I Ain't Afraid of No Daleks

It's been a radiant summer day. All around me the dance of life goes on: flowers waving their tossled coloured heads in time with the breeze. There are birds lurking in the trees, weaving their tapestry of song through the dancing leaves. The grass is emerald green, not having been scorched by an iron-fisted sun, so far this year. The azure blue sky supports a drifting of fluffy alabaster clouds. The sweet breath of summer is balm that makes the bitter barren days of winter, seem like only a distant injury to the soul.

Certain democrats (liberals, left wing, etc.) have called America's neo-conservative republicans (conservtive, right wing, etc.) under George W. Bush's reign, facists. Which, of course, the republicans strenously objected to.

Now, the republicans are calling the democrats, under president Obama's reign, socialists...and of course, it's fine for them to call liberals socialists, but liberals are not allowed to call them facists.

OK: first of all, I find republicans calling liberals "socialists" hilarious, mainly because 99% of the republicans DON'T HAVE A CLUE exactly what "socialist" even means.

So, to help both sides out, I've gone to the DICTIONARY and copied the words "socialism" and "facism" down. You be the judge which side is more accurate in their name-calling!

SOCIALISM:

A theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.

FACISM:

A governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

You suss it out, but remember this: at one point, the republicans had total control over the three main branches of government: Executive, legislative and judicial. The democrats only have control (barely) over two branches: executive and legislative. The repbulicans still have control over the judicial branch. Bush and his republicans went overboard to supress any criticism of Bush and anti-war protests, he suppressed evidence, did illegal wiretapping, illegal torture, violated or ignored or got rid of international treaties, allowed band and other financial lenders to run amuck, totally unchecked. He took away rights of average citizens--particularly their freedom of speech and racial protections. Bush nixed all efforts to clean up the enviornment, he outright vetoed a healthcare plan for poor children, the republican party advocated racism and bigotry, under the guise of immigration and Christianity. Ten times more innocent people died on George W. Bush's watch, than died in 9/11 altogether.

Seven things you will find in your room.

1. dust/cobwebs
2. model horses
3. 1970's clock radio that only gets one station on AM
4. 2 small lamps with no lightbulbs in them
5. books
6. bed quilts
7. bamboo side chair

Seven relationship questions.


1. Do you like anyone? Not in a sexual way, no. 

2. Does someone like you? Not in a sexual way, no.
3. Last kiss? My mum the morning she died, 3 1/2 years ago
4. Been lead on? Yes.
5. Been cheated on? Never got far enough for that
6. Want a relationship? Not particularly, no.
7. Want to get married? Definately not.

Seven other things – Do you:


1. Believe in God? Not especially.
2. Had a dream come true? Sort of, yes.

3. Read the Newspaper? Yes, mostly only online, though.
4. Get enough sleep everyday? No.
5. Have a best friend? Yes.

6. Take a bath daily? No, I don't have a bathtub in my apartment, only a shower stall.
7. Wish on stars? Not since I was a wee child.

Seven "Have you ever's":


1. Fallen in love? No, not ever.
2. Kissed someone of the same sex? My mum. 

3. Hooked up with someone who had a BF/GF? No.
4. Been to a Bonfire? No.
5. Ran away from home? Sort of. 

6. Played strip poker? No.

7. Pulled an all nighter? Yes.

Seven things in the last 24 Hours. Have you:


1. Cried? No.

2. Had fun? No.

3. Been kissed? No.

4. Felt stupid? Yes.

5. Talked to an ex? No.

6. Missed someone? Yes.

7. Listened to music? Yes.

Seven things on your mind:


1. Work
2. the household budget
3. tidying the apartment
4. a book I'm reading
5. govt. bullpoo that's going on
6. editing a Dr Who story
7. finding a new place to live

Seven things you couldn’t live without:


1. My cats
2. My friends
3. Dr Who
4. Blogging
5. Writing
6. Books
7. the outdoors/nature

Well, so far today, I've gone to an appointment, then ran upstairs, grabbed a bundle of dirty's and took the trolley to the Lake George laundromat--something I probably won't do again, this summer...long story.

Waiting for the trolley back, I met a nice young man from Istanbul, who was here working for the summer, and we talked while waiting for the late (as ususal) trolley to arrive. The blinking trolley is often late, 'cos the blinking tourons don't have a clue, which way is north or south--or they simply are too thick to read the sign on the front of the bus, which tells them where it's blinking going...so they waste valuable time dithering over whether they're taking the right bus or not.....or, you get tourons who don't have a clue what the fare is--even tho', like the sign that says where the bus is going, there's also a big honking sign in black and white, right by the stinking doors where they get on, telling them how much the blinking fare is! And then there's the berks who actually think the driver is going to sit there and wait for them to make change--or can give them change.

Then there's the tourists who think that the trolley bus is some kind of amusment ride, and never once consider that the damn thing has a schedule to keep, and that at least some of the riders have homes and/or jobs/and or shopping they want to go to! Actually, I've witnessed some groups of tourons, who will actually stand there outside the bus's open doors, bickering as to whether they want to go for a ride or not--which really pisses off the drivers.

It's incredible to think that some people have never ridden on a blinking bus in their lives, before. Talk about being spoiled! Then again, I've seen people in a laundromat who haven't a clue how to use an actual washer or dryer...and I don't just mean the settings--I've seen people clueless about where to put the money in! Jeez...so much for a public (state) education.

There were a bunch of kiwi's on the bus--barbie doll/Paris Hilton types....one girl kept staring at me, then launched into a very loud, snooty, blow-by-blow description of her European "grand tour"...like I give a flying (censored).

Yes, I very much look and dress like a redneck, but I've probably done more living in my 48 years, than this mamby-pamby 20-something New Zealander will do, in her whole lifetime, and besides--it's not what you say that impresses me, it's how you behave. Suppose I should be mildly flattered that Barbie the kiwi felt she needed to impress me, I guess? But, I was hot, tired, in pain, and grumpy (broken washer at the laundromat meant I had to do one load twice, and there were no rest rooms--something which can make a middle aged woman with diabetes, very cranky indeed).

Seated behind me was a touron couple, taking a trolley ride into Glens Falls--oh, they seemed like a nice couple, but the woman kept calling out all the places we passed--the crazy golf places, the amusement parks, the go-kart track, the ice cream stand, the Walmarts, the shopping centres, Mr. B's Best roast beef and subs, Home Depot, KFC, The Aviation Mall, Toys R Us, Taco Bell, Firestone and Cole Muffler....it got a bit tedious, I'm afraid.
I notced that one of my republican thug blog trolls has hit me again...four or five rant-comments, which I didn't bother--and won't bother, to read. Life is too short, and my brains too valuable, to waste on paying attention to some immature, robotic neo-conservative babble.

The guy's an infantile emotially disturbed neo-conservative from Southhampton, Pennsylvania, who has yet to have ever made an acutal intelligent (and grown up) comment on my blog, and I expect the poo ejected out by this childish little pest this time around, is no exception.

Ignore and delete the little pain in the arse...

So, after I'm finished putting away the clean clothes and towels, and finishing the breakfast dishes, I'll have a spot of lunch and a lie down, before heading off to work tonight.

I'm told that I'll be doing a new sales (or possibly collections) programme, for a car loan company, by the end of the month. Thank God. I'm sick of talking to a bunch of ill-mannered, uptight bougouis/redneck neo-conservative club members.

Anyway, hope you all are having a good day, yeah? Cheers.

I done got tagged tonight--with another writing meme.

1. What’s Your Writing Style?

Do I have a style? I do have (or so I'd been told several times by my various professors), that I have a very distinct 'voice' as a writer, but do I have a "style?" I don't know. I THINK maybe I may tend to be a bit old fashioned and proper in my writing at times, at other times I'm a bit flippant and simplistic--perhaps even a bit shallow.

2. Are you a “pantser” or a “plotter?”

Oh, definately a pantser--that's a stupid slang term for writers like me, who tend to write by the seat of their pants, instead of wrestling for days over plots. It's probably not the best way in the world to write--at least, I don't think so, but it's what I'm comfortable with.

And, since I'm no professional hack, I can do as I please, since no one generally reads my fiction/plays, anyway.

3.Detailed character sketches or “their character will be revealed to me as a I write”?

Bit of both. I usually have some vision of a character--even an established character, like Dr Who or his companions--inside my head before I even start writing...but, I also let the story shape the charcter, as per his or her response to different situations.

4.Books on plotting – useful or harmful?

I own books on writing--mostly gotten through my English and writing courses in college...but, unless I'm genuinely stumped on some specific point, or feel I need to refresh my memory about something technical that I've forgotten, I rarely read books on writing. Guess I'm a bit lazy, but I figure if someone really is a good writer--why is he or she writing books on writing?

5.Are you a procrastinator or does the itch to write keep at you until you sit down and work?

A bit of both...but, yeah, more of a procrastinator. Many a time in college I would put off writing an essay until the wee hours before the paper was due in class that morning.

Yet, I'm just as likely, sometimes, to dive right in and tear away at it. When I'm writing a short story, I do like to sit there and not get up again, until I've written a whole chapter...doesn't always work that way, but there ya' go.

6.Do you write in short bursts of creative energy, or can you sit down and write for hours at a time?

Again, both. It all depends on what I'm writing. Creatively, I write in short bursts of energy...but when I have to write something, I'll just sit there for hours and crank away.

There's this whole demarcation line, for me, between work I HAVE to do, and work I'm doing just for my own pleasure--as a hobby to pass the time. I enjoy doing both, but I do take two opposite approaches between writing-the "job" and writing--the "hobby."

7.Are you a morning or afternoon writer?

I write whenever I feel like writing...tho', quite often, that tends to be in the ungodly hours of the morning, I've no idea why, other than it's quiet and easier to think without any distractions of disruptions.

8.Do you write with music/the noise of children/in a cafe or other public setting, or do you need complete silence to concentrate

50/50. I prefer silence half the time, but, on the other hand, sometimes music can help me set a mood to my writing...particularly if I have a emotional scene to write, or if I need to set a mood with background--a rainy day may mean I put on some melancholy instrumetnal music, for instance, or, if I have a sad scene to write, I might put on a lament by Andy M. Stewart, or, if an action scene, maybe some pop music, like The Fratellis or a happy scene, maybe the Carpenters.

9.Computer or longhand? (or typewriter?)

It physically hurts me to write longhand, so definately a computer or typewriter...however, because of my Holy brain, sometimes make notes in longhand, though not as a regular thing, only if I get what I think is a scathingly brilliant idea, or something I may want to tie into, later. Otherwise, I basically "pants" it.

10. Does what’s selling in the market influence how and what you write?

Hell no! I'm not now, nor will I ever be (as far as I can see) a paid/professional writer, so what the hell do I care, what's "popular" or not?

11.Editing – love it or hate it?

Neither. It is what it is, a necessary--well, evil isn't the right word, but if you care about your work, you should edit it. Obviously, if I deliberately took a course on news editing in college--a 3 hour night class no less, which made me have a 13 hour day (not counting the 1+ hour commute to and from home) at college on Wednesday, I don't "hate" editing. It's boring and tedious--and my practical knowlege of grammar sucks quite honestly--, but on the other hand, it is also a vital part of the creative process, that polishes a work to make it the best it can be.

How could I hate something like that?

Just before leaving for work, I heard from the social worker. I don't know how this came about, but National Grid says I'm still on the budget plan--even though I was short roughly 9 dollars on the payment--which always before, meant instant cancellation of my monthly budget agreement, followed by a demand for full payment (roughly an entire month's income, in my case), followed by a shut off notice when I couldn't pay.

So, I've till' the 29th to pay my budget bill--thank goodness, so my gas and electric are still on...but, the downside is that my bill went up again, to $220. I've got $60 put aside, and a short pay check this week--two day's loss of pay for the office being shut for the entire holiday weekend, meaning I'm only going to have about a $100 on Friday--which I can't put all on the bill, cos' I need to buy cat food and stuff. So...it's going to be rather tight, but there's some free things I can do to amuse myself, so no worries.

I don't know if I'll have enough money to go to the classic film festival at the new (restored) Park Theater down in the city centre, but it doesn't cost anything to go to the Hyde for the Degas exhibit--if I ride my bike and don't take a cab (it's on the opposite side of the city from me, and not on a bus line), and there's some free lectures and a jazz concert, coming up at the public library--unfortunately, I work nights, so it's tough getting to take advantage of things like that.

And, for $2, I can ride the trolley bus to Lake George. There's a town band concert coming up this weekend, that's free...and I think the Lake George arts festival is sometime soon...and, if I can spare an extra $2, I can even buy a soft ice cream conronet.

I just found out there's a new riding stable on the trolley bus line, this summer. Colonial Stables is at the Wild West Show theme park, right near the trolley stop by the Magic Forest amusment park (home to the only diving horse in the USA). I was over the moon at the prospect of maybe riding a horse agin. I rang them up, and was quite disappointed to find that they're charging $25 an hour to go out on a guided trail ride up the mountain and back. Way, way too steep for me. But, they are also supposed to have stagecoach and wagon rides, for $10, so I might have a go at that, come August, if I can afford it. Hey, I'm still a horse nut, and any excuse to be near a horse...