Book of the Night Club

Today, it's all about me

So today there were not one, but two, articles in newspapers that quoted me. Neither one was particulary accurate, and one was really poorly written (if I do say so myself). One was in the Omaha paper, an article about people who left the city and people who stayed. The other was in the local paper, about a dog that was hit by a car that was taken in by our animal rescue organization.

So I guess I'm a media star...woooooooo...

Arnie pours it on thick!

As I was listening to the Govenator's speech to the Sacramento Press Club, I am dismayed yet again by his ability to say a whole lot of absolutely nothing. It reminds me of the governor in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, who is a caricature politician. So is Schwarzenegger, really. But the problem is that he's technically real.

The most annoying thing is the way he "sidesteps" being critical of the Bush Administration by claiming that issues such as the war in Iraq and Border issues are "national issues", so he claims to have no opinion of them. Ummmmm...hello? We are a BORDER (*^%^% STATE, so please give Californians at least a semblance of the illusion that you possess independent thoughts. By not stating an opinion or worse, intimating that state politicians (and, by extension, their constituents) should ignore what's going on in Washington and simply smile wanly as George Bush leads us further down this bizarre road we're on right now.

Whale in Thames

So it seems that a bottle-nosed whale has decided to do some sight-seeing in Central London.

I just hope the water in the Thames doesn't make it ill...

Better late than Never

The U.S. Postal Service recognizes Children's Literature.

Moomin Madness

Publishers Weekly's comics newsletter has announced that
Drawn & Quarterly will release a five-book series collecting the Moomin comic strips by Tove Jansson. The first book should be out in September.

YAY! I love the Moomins!

Stephanie

Today is Stephanie Moore's 55th birthday. The celebration this year will be different than in the past, because today is her Memorial Service. She died of ovarian cancer on January 2nd, and now the world is much less bright.

Stephanie was an incredible teacher and endlessly inspiring; she had a presence unlinke anyone I'd ever encountered. I miss her and feel like I've let her down, which is no small thing.

I took some of her writing classes years ago, even though it seems like months. The last time I saw her we mused about it, how it seemed like only a few days ago that I sat on the couch in her living room, warmed by the fire, eating "kitty cookies" and drinking tea, feeling inadequate yet hopeful. I wasn't like the others, who all seemed to have a great deal of disposable income and free time to reflect and muse over plots, lots of people to bounce ideas off of, and most of all, talent. I didn't have that luxury or those gifts. At least I thought so; but Stephanie made me feel differently. Like maybe I could.

At the beginning of each class she'd read a quote from this huge grey book she had, I can't even remember its name. I want that book now, it seems strangely powerful.

Stephanie was one of those people that made you believe that you could do anything. Every time I saw her she told me to write, and that time was "wasting". I guess she'd know that better than most. I wish I had listened.

I sent her a card a few months ago, telling her that when she got better, I'd come back and be in her class again. Like I had that kind of power; like I could make her well. Was I arrogant enough to believe it? Not really. Maybe that's why it didn't work.

I do not grieve well in groups; that may have something to do with how I was raised. You just didn't show your emotions to others, even if you were all feeling the same thing. No matter what, you had to be okay. And I'm not okay right now, I feel sad and a little betrayed, but mainly I feel alone. She was one of the few people I knew who I honestly believed when she said I could write, and now she's gone. I really feel like I let her down by not trying harder, and I'm angry because I didn't need yet another person to disappoint. And also because I still don't have anything to say. I wanted her to see what everyone else saw, not what I desperately wanted others to see but didn't think was real. But she did; she looked into my soul and I think she could see what I really wanted and who I really was. And now she's gone, and one less person in the world can see me.

Librarian of the Year

Rivkah Sass, Director of the Omaha Public Library, has been selected as the ALA's Librarian of the Year. She almost makes Omaha sound attractive...

Horrible, yet sickeningly amusing

Wal-Mart stops online movie recommendations after system links a "Planet of the Apes" DVD to films about famous black Americans, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Yet another justifiable reason to detest Wal-Mart!

Country Boys

David Sutherland, who created one of my favorite Frontline series ever, is back with what looks like another fascinating story. This one looks at two young men growing up in Appalachia.

I'm TiVo'd and ready to go!

P.S. - Am I the only one who wondered whatever happened to the Buschkoetters? Uncle Google has let me know that daughter Audrey attends (or attended, or works for) Hastings College in Nebraska, and was a Horatio Alger scholar.

Hummmmmmmm...

I have half a mind to apply for one of these, just to see what they'd end me have having me do.

New Year, same old (*&%(*&)

Bush Contends Spying Program Vital, Legal.

Seriously, how much longer are people going to buy this shit?