Dialing Up Tuesday Tidbits

 Here are a few tidbits this early March morning. I reserve the right to develop any or all of these into full blog posts at a later date—or not. We'll see.

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We were delighted to have my sister, Carol, and my brother-in-law, Mike, visit with us this weekend. It had been about a decade since the last time they were here. We've seen them in Michigan and Florida, but it's rare for them to visit here.

There was a lot of conversation and laughter. We consumed mass quantities, watched some movies, and visited Brunswick and Jekyll Island.

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My record of job success has been much less than that of most of my family. Others have achieved greater standing and better pay. Sometimes, this makes me feel inferior. But then I feel proud that so many I have helped raise and support have done well. I have some really good boys, and I am super proud of everything they have achieved.

I could have done more in my career, but it would have cost time to be with family, participate in theatre, and enjoy life. The bottom line is that with careful money management, we have done very well. It's true we don't have second homes and lavish vacations, but we have done most of what we wanted to do.  

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I dreaded my Thursday appointment with my physician's assistant. I'm at the age where you're not really sure what you're going to find out, But it went better than I expected, and I have no new crises to deal with. The best part? A medical intern looked at me first, and I commented on my blood pressure that it wasn't bad for someone 68. He left, and when he returned with the PA, the PA said, "Man, you look good. You don't look like you're anywhere near 68!" 

That was the first time I had ever heard anything like that. I about wept for joy.

I'm used to Alison being complicated because of how young she looks (and justifiably so), but me? Never.  

I will take it and put it in my Compliment Treasure Box.

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The "When will they ever wake up?" news about Trump continues to be mixed. Per the Supreme Court, states must keep an insurrectionist on the ballot. Also, the Supreme Court is slow-walking the absolute immunity case, which may delay the federal trials until next year.

What all this means is that we can't expect the courts and justice to bail us out.  We the people are going to have to end this madness by voting against Trump in the Novembe election  Only a thundering beat down at the polls will eliminate this threat.

Are we up to the task?

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Benjamin is back from Sweden and may see us this weekend. He is happy but tired. If I get any pictures, I'll be sure to share them.

Sincerely,

T. M. Strait

Welcome to my Eleventy Minute Window

 

Once again, I will try to write within the eleventy-minute window that I have tried to pry open in the morning.  Hopefully, this time will expand later.  If nothing else, it gets me back into the habit of writing each day.

Today, I'll try to answer some questions I found on Twitter.

What is a movie you dislike that everyone else loves?

That's easy. The Notebook.  The ending that everybody loved and thought was so romantic, the couple dying within seconds of each other, made me quite angry - I saw no charm or romance in it.  I also felt no chemistry between the young leads nor any interest in their situation.  

What story have you chosen not to tell?

How can I tell you if I've chosen not to tell it?

Do you have a favorite tree?

Even though we had to chop ours down because it was sick and threatening our house, I do like Oak trees.

Do you eat leftovers from previous dinners?

Yes!  We cook three dinners per week.  We have three new dinners each week, leftovers three times, and takeout one time per week. 

Do you support the minimum wage increase?

Oh, Yaz!  I think it would be a major boost to the economy, and areas that have increased minimum wage prosper more once they do.  I could say more but...eleventy minutes!

Which are now up.

Stay safe!

T. M. Strait

Bossy Tuesday Tidbits

Yep.  Love to stay home and write today, but my bossy schedule determines otherwise.  Sorry, Boss-A-Man.  I will need to go into work at least some today.

Party Weekend!

Both Doug and Benjamin were home for the weekend!  We had a great time just hanging out with each other.  Brought in Surchero's to eat (a local burrito place with assembly similarities to Chipolte and Subway) and watched the movie Knives Out, a clever little mystery/thriller. 

Personal Health

Still staying on track!  Making progress in losing weight and lowering blood pressure and glucose readings.  I slipped a little this weekend with the boys, but not as much as I feared.  My sweet tooth has disappeared, and I fill up faster than I used to.  I thought that I would crave sweets a lot on this dietary change, but I do not.  My largest cravings center around cheeseburgers and sandwiches.

MLS starts!

We got a new 4K TV and were able to watch the Atlanta United season opener with Doug.  Game looked awesome.  Atlanta won, but in doing soon, they may have won the battle but lost the war.  Their superstar player, Josef Martinez, was injured in the game.  We found out later it was a torn ACL and that he may be out six to nine months. 

Super Tuesday:  The Democratic Establishment Strikes Back!

The Democratic Party establishment, the Corporate Democrat Empire, is coalescing to oppose the last of the Jedi Knights, Bernie Sanders.  Joe Biden wins his first primary in 32 years of running for President, and suddenly it's like the race is over.  And everyone seems to be forgetting that the ideal candidate (our Princess Leia) is waiting in the wings.  What the heck, people.


Well, I would love to write more, but this time of year is tough to write or even get the mental space to think about WHAT to write.  As I'm between novels, I really am trying to squeeze out a good short story idea, one that might break into a science fiction magazine, and I am having no luck.

Anyhoo, have a great day!  Heck, have a SUPER TUESDAY!

T, M, Strait

Hanging In There Tuesday Tidbits

I'm trying.

Work is coming fast and furious.  I really need to finish this up and get on with it.

You can forget all those wonderful writing projects.  Plans and dreams must be put on hold.

I look back at past tax seasons, and I'm amazed at what I've done.  Musicals, blogging, writing chapters, going to events and meetings.

Now I feel lucky to get out of bed and focus enough to go to work.

The knee pain is not as bad as it was.  It has not gone away, it's just not as intense.  It's extended down the leg and now includes the foot.  Some over-the-counter pain relievers are helping a little, but they also cloud my mind. 

My major goal of being able to leave accounting behind me lies in ruins.  I volunteered to be our Church Treasurer, and it's much more than I imagined.  It is adding quite a bit to the time I spend each week in the accounting field.

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Wow!  They were right! Advertising works!  You can win over people to the crappiest products if you make it sound sweet enough.  Let me make this as straightforward as I can -

Bloomberg is not a solution to the problem.  He is a symptom of the problem - that wealthy oligarchs can buy their way into power.

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I probably should have more topics, don't you think?


Parts of my lawn are starting to grow again.  I have no idea what I'm going to do about that.

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Sorry.  Accidentally took a nap.

I really gotta go.


I miss routine.

The Never-Ending Wait Tuesday Tidbits

Everybody's something, right?

Well, I'm a political junkie, like it or not.

I've always been fascinated, almost from birth, certainly since my pre-teen years.

So, this Iowa result delay is interminable.

Mostly, I'm mostly tired of listening to the pundits go mad with speculation.  This is a dissatisfying glitch.  This is an annoyance.  It does not mean the Democratic Party is incapable of running the country, nor is it or should it be the major goal to please the media overloads with quick results and allow them to chew up the process with overblown, hyperbolic punditry.

And here is the number one thing that I hate that they are saying and is making me angry -

THIS MEANS MICHAEL BLOOMBERG IS THE BIG WINNER

What complete and utter horsehockey and nonsense.

Our Presidency should NOT turn into a BILLIONAIRE SWAP MEET!

Sorry, to start with politics.  Sometimes, it's just the way its got to be.

Personal Health

A full month of recording diet and health stuff now.  I lost 12 pounds and reduced my blood pressure.  Glucose levels declined, but nowhere near where I need them to be.  That part was discouraging, and I may be headed to Metformin no matter what I do.  bu, Like my favorite candidate, I will persist!

Super Bowl

Can't say.  Didn't watch it.  Not the game.  Not the halftime show.  Not the commercials.

This is what I know or have learned.

San Francisco pulled a mini Falcons and melted down in the face of impending victory, and were defeated by a coach who looks like Wilford Brimley.  

Missouri has all the big cities, and Kansas has Wichita.  Someone needs to tell the President.

The same people who revel in the football violence and the scantily clad cheerleaders and the sexy commercials and the jingoistic game starts and don't want "certain" NFL players to get uppity and kneel during the anthem (while the President gyrates like an a-hole) and don't mind kids in cages, get all high-horsey when a couple of superstar Latina entertainers give a spectacular show and dare to go near a pole.  Glad to know the objectors have such a fine-tuned sense of priorities.

And congratulations. Planters!  Your macabre demise of Mr. Peanut to replace him with a Baby Yoda ripoff is right up there, putting you in the Advertising Hall of Shame, alongside New Coke and the Edsel.

Writing

The rhythm is gonna get me.  Or I should my complete inability to deploy a rhythm method. Nevertheless, I hope today to begin another round of edits on The Extra Credit Club, the book I've been working on the last year or so, and one many of you may never see.

I think it's shaping up to be my best ever, but what do I know.  I'm still confused by what happened (or didn't happen) to Crowley Stories.

I'm going to do my best to keep these to three topics.  

Sorry for the political intrusions, but.....

Wednesday Update to Tuesday Tidbits

The Iowa results are trickling in, about 71% in last I checked.  Sanders is ahead in the first and final round, but Buttigieg leads in State Delegate count.  How?  I guess Iowa gerrymanders to prefer rural areas over cities and college towns.  Ain't democracy grand?

Anyways, it looks like Bernie and Mayor Pete are competing for first.  Elizabeth Warren is third, period - that's not likely to change up or down.  Biden and Klobuchar look neck and neck for fourth and fifth.

The most striking result is in the entrance polls.  Mayor Pete ranks in the top among voters who DON"T WANT Medicare For All.  He is also third in those who DO support Medicare For All.  Well, that can't last.  Sooner or later, people will figure out which pony he is riding.  Or maybe not, and the 'all things to all people' thing will work.

I got a lot more thoughts but I'll save them for another post.

Please don't rip this up when you're done.

Southeast Georgia Winter Tuesday Tidbits

This morning, it was 29 degrees, and the feels like was 23!

There was a tiny bit of frost on my car.

It was a little chilly, or as my Southeast Georgia friends would call it, a MEGASTORM!

It won't stay that cold for very long.  It rarely does.  There is no snow.  When it drops this low, it's a dry cold.  When it warms back up to the 60s?  That's when we will have precipitation.

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Personal Health Week Two:  weight continuing to slowly creep down, same with blood pressure, and finally, glucose levels have joined the decline party!  Still have miles to go, and I have to accept that the changes I'm making are permanent.

Saw myself in a mirror at church and realized, with horror, that the part that I am most eligible to play is Alfred Hitchcock. Oy.

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Streaming?  Season Four of Van Helsing.  One of those I started and now, by God, I am going to see it through.  Not the worst series in the world.  Just good enough to keep me intrigued enough to see what is going to happen next.  At least the vampires in it are not glowing boy toys.

Reading?  The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly. This is a trial/legal drama, one that was made into a movie a few years back with Matthew McConaughy.  This may be how he got to be a sponsor of Lincoln cars and do all the those Lincoln commercials.  Trust me, the book makes a lot more sense than those bizarre commercials.

Movies?  Saw Dolittle at the theatres.  Look, it's a children's/family movie, so you can't expect perfection.  It was entertaining, with some impressive celebrity voiceovers.  Robert Downey Jr.'s accent, however - it would have been better just to claim that Dolittle was an American living in England.  Growing up, the Doctor Dolittle books were my favorite children's literature.

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The trail to convict and remove the greatest modern evil this nation has ever faced starts today, or as Midnight Mitch McConnell calls it, the Big Nothing.  He'll do everything thing he can to shunt it aside, make it run at one in the morning, short circuit it, bury it, and proceed to Trump's grand exoneration speech.

And my Trumpeteer friends will be going, "See?  We told you there was nothing there!

Sigh.  The whole world has become the OJ trial, with each of us seeing only what we want to.  Trump's entire team is filled with TV lawyers and performers designed to obscure and deny the truth.

If nothing else, we'll get to find out if the term moderate Republican means anything anymore.  I don't know what disgusts me more,  The rabid true believers like Lindsey Graham, or the woosies who feign objection and then just faint and fall in line.

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Benjamin is back at college once again.  Alison is at work.  I'm working more, although I am stubbornly taking today off.  How much more I can do that, I don't know.  But I need to begin serious editing of The Extra Credit Club.

Oh, and there might be a trial or something on TV.

Or, thanks to Midnight Mitch, I might need to gear up for a late night.

Reduced Range Tuesday Tidbits

Let's start with a completely unrelated, dissociative, and unseasonal photo.

It's still winter here, but who would know with current highs in the low 80s?

My experiment with no longer posting The Strait Line on my main Facebook feed continues.  Numbers are down but not as horribly as I feared.  That means, with rare exceptions, people were either not seeing them or ignoring them.  I know.  Hoping people will view and read anything may be unfair and too much to ask for nowadays.

Nevertheless, I persist.

Personal Health

I have been attempting, since the first of the year, to modify my diet and increase my exercise.  The primary goal is to prevent the prescribing of Metformin. 

I am recording everything I eat, accounting spreadsheet-style that accounts for several critical nutritional categories,  including calories, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, sugars, and sodium.  I am trying to get fiber to be 20% or greater of carbohydrate calories (e.g., if I have daily 100 grams carbohydrates, I should have a minimum of 20 grams fiber).  I also record any blood pressure, glucose, or weight readings.

Results?  My weight is going down, blood pressure is going down, and I have yet to make progress on glucose levels.  That last is very frustrating to me, but I don't intend to give up.  If I have to take Metformin, I don't want it to have been without a battle to avoid it.

At the Movies

The Oscars have been announced, and as usual, I have only seen one out of the nine movies nominated.  That's thanks to a guy's afternoon last Friday where Dean Crane and Chris Starling and I saw 1917.  I liked it.  It was like pretty much one long take without cutaways or significant time jumps unless the main character was asleep or knocked out.  World War I was a huge event that shaped the world and our lives, and it has largely been forgotten by most. 

I hope to see some of the other films nominated, but it may take a while.  I will see The Joker, although I am uncertain of how I feel about it.  Joker is a villain and a horrible, psychotic character.  I don't know how I feel about a movie that may make him sympathetic. I also look forward to seeing Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

BenJerMan

He continues to thrive at Georgia College.  He got all A's his first semester.  At present, he has no roommate, as Vapor Man has gone elsewhere.  He may be assigned a new one, but so far, it's just him.  We may have to pay more money if one is not found.  Sounds fair, right?

That's about all I want to cover this time out.  With over 2,000 posts, the one thing you can be sure of - they'll be more later!

Tidbitting the Tuesday

Just starting out with a Canadian sunset.

Why?

Why not?

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I am looking forward to the holidays.  I am spending time trying to clear my work schedule so I can spend more time at home with my family.  Benjamin will be coming home on Tuesday evening and will be spending about five days with us.

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Work is not cooperating as the information I need to complete assignments is coming in very slowly. I would like it to be faster, but sometimes the horse don't drink.  So I need to be patient.

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Sports have faded again, as soccer season is over, and most of the football teams I follow continue to disappoint.  Michigan Wolverines are not having the worst season ever, but neither will they be going to the national championship playoff.

Nevertheless....fifty years ago, in 1969, Ohio State was demolishing everybody by wide margins.  Sports Illustrated ran a story implying they were the best college football team of the century!

Then, at the end of the regular season, the Michigan Wolverines, led by coach Bo Schembechler, unexpectedly upended the Woody Hayes led Ohio State Buckeyes in one of the greatest upsets in sports history.

On this fifty-year anniversary, that would be a nice thing to revisit.

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Trump's Walter Reed visit on Saturday?

Who knows?

Many of the "routine" things that could be done could easily be done at the White House.  As of writing this, he has strangely disappeared from public view.

Who knows?

You only know that he and his team have no credibility and can't be believed.

So who knows?

All I know is that exaggerations of the health of Hillary Clinton were rampant in the Fall of 2016, promulgated by Russian hackers and bots and gleefully promoted by the Trump people.

I'll never forget a co-worker showing me a doctored video of Hillary head's shaking as if she had epilepsy, thinking he had caught the Zapruder film, convinced that she was mentally damaged.  Nothing could persuade him otherwise.  The Russians had him - hook, line, and sinker.

Will he notice what's going on with Trump's health right now?  Won't raise his curiosity one iota.

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Pictures of people in community theater are a-bounding on my facebook feed.  Something about a challenge to show 10 theater pictures in 10 days, then you have to challenge another theatre person to do the same.   I show theatre pictures all the time.  I would have no trouble doing that.  I would not challenge others.  I really don't like to do anything that even remotely smacks of chain mail.

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Does anyone understand this meme?  I don't mean the words at the top.  That's something about the pronunciation of a town here in Southeast Georgia.  I'm not smart enough to edit that part out.  I mean the two pictures.  I mean, what's up with that?  How is this so popular? Separately or in conjunction with each other, they make no sense to me.

Social media is a weird and strange place.

If I were brighter, I would create this -

Woman:  You!  Social media person!  Why are you doing this?  How does this make any sense?

Cat:  How would I know?  I'm a cat inexplicably in front of a salad.  Does anything make any sense?


Anyways, something else will come up next week, probably even weirder.

Ta Ta to Tidbits for now!

T. M. Strait

Thematically Smashed Tuesday Tidbits

They stood patiently waiting for a writing idea to come through the door.

Nope.

Not gonna happen today.

Brutal mind wipe is all that's happening this tax season Tuesday morning.

Got a Writer's Guild meeting tonight.  Supposed to write something using these three words - nest, egg, this.  Sound simple enough?

It is.  It's super simple. Except for the fog I'm in, and the weeping eye - which could be pink eye, or a sty, or just the way it is right now.  I don't know, and I'm too fogged to worry about it.

I thought of a story where a young couple has a meeting with a financial adviser, and the financial adviser keeps trying to suggest ways for the young couple to save and build a nest egg, for retirement, children's colleges, and emergencies.  The young couple is amazed at all the money the financial adviser thinks they have to invest, and they argue back and forth until the man of the young couple throws something on the financial adviser's desk and shouts, "Nest egg THIS, motherducky!"  

But that's as far as I've got.

I stayed up late to see the end of the NCAA Men's Colleg Basketball Championship.  I lost big time in our office pool, and it was my job to get something for the winner.  Congratulations to this year's winner, Chris Arney!

I'd say something political, but I'm lost there too.  We are teetering on the edge of something terrible, an administration unconstrained by law, reason or decency.  Sorry.  tHat's all I got right now.

And that's all I got for this blog right now.

BYe.

Taxing Tuesday Tidbits

Daddy! Get tax season over with and stay home with me!  Or...let me stay on the bed.  Either one.  I'm good either way.

Gouda morning!

All-a my writing goals have gone up-pa in da smoke 'o' tax season!

Well, I do have a few minutes to pretend to blog a bit.  But fiction writing?  You can wave that goodbye for the next two weeks.

Even with a reduced schedule from prior years, my mind is still fogged and scrambled.  

Crap.  I've already run out of stuff to say.  I'm going to get some more coffee.

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What was I writing about?

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Dang.  Just been staring at a computer screen.  Coffee's gone cold.  Give me a sec to warm it up.

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Holy cringe sauce!  That cup wasn't microwavable.  Excuse me while I treat this second-degree burn.

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What was I writing about?

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Sorry.  Had to step away for a minute.  Ellie wanted to come in, and she was carrying a dead bird in her mouth.  She dropped at my feet and looked up with pride.  What is she?  A cat?  It must have passed away or crashed in the yard somehow.  I highly doubt Ellie leaped into the sky and snatched it.  So I took care of it.  Don't ask how and I won't tell.  

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Coffee's cold again.

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Damn!  I need to get a different cup! 

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Ok.  Second second-degree burn treated.

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What was I writing about?

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Bloody heck,  I see by the clock it's now time to get to work and back into the tax submarine.

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Anyways...how 'bout them Sparties?

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Sorry.  Gotta go.  

Have a great waking period.

Check, Please! Tuesday Tidbits

Gratuitous shot of Crowley Stories: Swamp's Edge.  If you haven't got your copy yet, please do so!

Finally!

My first check for Crowley Stories is on its way!  A whopping $41.02 will soon be glowing in my bank account!  Hey, Alison!  Start shopping for that Traverse City condo NOW!  I hit the big time!

Ok, not so much.  Only about another $1200 to go to recover my costs.  But I can almost smell the hot, fetid breath of break-even already!

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Maybe I can start to turn the cycle of this withdrawal period I'm going through.  I don't know.  Maybe not. I kinda like being at home. I kinda like the routine I am building for myself and my family.

But, sigh, as soon as I get adjusted, I have to change.  Work is accelerating, and I should go into the office this afternoon.  I also have a can't miss meeting with the Writer's Guild.

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I want to thank Carol and Mike for giving us the Fandango card.  We found we can rent movies from their streaming service, FANDANGO NOW,  and see very recent theatrical releases for way less than going to the theatre.  We say Crazy, Rich Asians Sunday.  It passed the Rom part of my Rom-Com test, in that I cared about the couple and thought they worked well together.  It was less successful at the Com part.  There were parts where I drifted off a bit.  All in all, a pretty good movie.

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It's only been a couple months, but we can already smell the beginnings of a new MLS season!  Preseason has begun, and the first regular season game is March 3rd!  We're going to miss Miggy, but I think they are assembling another promising team, and they are doubling down on the Martinez (Josef AND Pity)!

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I can see by recent headlines that Huffington Post has picked their favorite - Beto O'Rouke!  As each female candidate has announced, she has had savage headlines dissing her, but Beto is treated like the second coming.  I'll vote for whoever the Democrats choose, but I think our slate of female candidates is very strong - and it is WAY PAST TIME!

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Anecdotal evidence is building that the tax season is going to be a disatrous disappointment to many.  Many people determine the success or failure on only one thing - HOW MUCH IS MY REFUND?  The ins and outs of the new tax law are catching many people off guard.  With the vagaries of the changes made,  particularly with the elimination of personal exemptions, the odds are that your wages were putting aside too low of an amount to cover your end of the year tax bill, at least less than what it was in the past.

Alison and I were only saved by the fact that I withheld federal tax dollars from both Social Security and my retirement income. Not everyone does that, particularly with Social Security.  We will get a small refund, but our budget is not built on getting a large refund, anyway.  That's not typical of many Americans.  Right or wrong, they have grown to anticipate a healthy refund.  I and many of my fellow CPAs can argue why that is not a sound thing to do, but nevertheless, it is the way people think.

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I will miss fiction writing today.  I was really starting to get into the groove.

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Tidbittingly Yours,

T. M. Strait

Calm down, Grammarly.  Yes, I know, tidbittingly is not a real word.  Deal with it!

A Little Time for Tuesday Tidbits

Got a few minutes in my revised schedule to write a brief blog posting.  So, I'm not going to let the lack of a topic stop me!

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Working M- W -F now.  That may change as tax season intensifies, but until then, I get my own mini-shutdowns Tu - Th - weekends! Woohoo!

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Fiction writing on Tuesday and Thursday are going good!  Making great progress on The Extra Credit Club.  I think I'm hitting the 60% completion mark.  There will need to be a lot of editing - always a flaw when you write over so long a period.  I noticed I gave the same character two different names.  I'm not a 19th-century Russian novelist, so I'll have to go back and clean that up.

The Extra Credit Club will be marketed to see if I can get a publisher or agent.  Which means y'all may never see it.  If that doesn't work, I will self-publish through Amazon.  I'm not spending big bucks again to get a novel published.

Crowley Stories has been a huge disappointment.  I have not been able to control the Amazon pricing or promotion.  The local response has been horrible.  I don't mean people dislike the book.  I mean they don't buy it or read it.

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Speaking of shutdowns, the Government shutdown staggers on with no end in sight.  Neither side can lose.  Both know whoever wins this will be able to control the agenda for the next two years.

Although the current shutdown is 176% Trump's responsibility (with a little help and assist from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell), I find this whole procedure a rotten way to run a government.  I can't stand that both sides use these budget bills as excuses to threaten a shutdown to try to leverage concessions.

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Football blows this year.  Alabama vs,  Clemson?  AGAIN?  The NFL playoffs have been a whole festival of teams I don't care about.  Everybody complains about how long it's been since their team was in the Super Bowl.  Well...TAKE A NUMBER!  I'M A LIONS FAN!

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That's it for now.

The Extra Credit Club awaits!

My Rarest Feature: Tuesday Tidbits

Pixie and Ellie, in Mama's chair, contemplating the power of the unrelated photo, selected simply to boost blog views.

Here I am, with one of my rarest features, Tuesday Tidbits.  The name is relatively stupid, so maybe it's good that it's rare.

FAMILY

Doug visited last night.  He got a work assignment in Waycross and spent the evening with us.  It was good to see him.  He and Paige are heading to Montana for Christmas, so it's nice that we got a chance to see him now.  

BenJerMan's last day of school for the year is today.  Yeah, I know.  That sounds weird to say, being it's December 11th.  He has college courses that ended Monday, and he gets some credit for attendance or good grades or something - I couldn't understand all of it.  He tried to explain it to us, and we kept asking him to repeat it.  We had to stop because he was getting upset.  So, although it seems unlikely, it's for real.  He'll be home from December 12th to January 8th.  Might be a good time for him to get a job.

Alison has her Christmas party at work today.  That seems early, too, but Doug said his work's was last week.  Mine won't be until December 18th.  Tonight is the Writer's Guilds.  Party Party!

READING

I am reading City of Bones by Michael Connely, part of his series of novels featuring Los Angeles Detective Harry Bosch.  It's the same basic plot used on one of the seasons of Bosch, a TV series I have watched.  I don't usually read a book after I've seen it as a movie or TV show, but I'm going ahead anyway.  It's a book  I got from a library sale where you can get a bagful of books for $5.

I have a good number of books available to read.  I have a unique book selection system that involves random numbers that give the several dozen books I usually have waiting to select from an equal chance.  Some people find this OCD disturbing.  I find it fun and exciting.  

THEATRE

I got nothing.

I finished being the narrator for The Polar Express, which I loved doing, but I have nothing else scheduled until Valentine's and re-performing The Love Letters.

I did not try out for Beauty and the Beast, as Benjamin did not want to be in it.  Two more opportunities are coming up - A Midsummer's Night Dream, and the WACT spring murder mystery.  As it is Benjamin's Senior year, I will try out for whatever Benjamin tries out for.  He may not try out for anything.  We'll see.

TV BINGEING

We just finished Homecoming, a well-crafted suspense drama starring Julia Roberts.  We are now starting the second season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - it's a fun show with snappy dialogue and many funny moments.  Its sense of period is excellent

I'm also seeing Nightflyers, a secondary effort based on a George R. R. Martin story.  Too many sequences where you're not sure what you're seeing is real, or a delusion.

WRITING

I'm having a tough time returning to fiction writing.  I am down and discouraged.  I can't get in the rhythm of it, and sales of my existing projects are devastatingly disappointing.  Yes, yes, yes.  I know I should do more to promote my books.  Many of the ways just involve tossing away more money, with little return to show for it.

I'm going to need to rethink all of my plans to earn money creatively and move more away from accounting.  I'll do something.  I'm just not sure what yet.

POLITICS

Amazingly, I don't have much to say right now.  Let's let Mueller finish up and see where we are.  Let's see how much power and influence the Progressive Democrats have in the House.

I cannot fathom people who are still sticking by Trump.  But that's been true for a long while now.  The attachment of the Trumpeteers just gets more amazing (and disgusting) every day.

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Well, that's enough tidbitting.  I see I used amazing twice within two paragraphs.  Sigh.  I'm not a first-tier writer.  Nevertheless, I persist.

Here Comes the Rain Again

Insta-ponds are Insta-fun!

Here comes the rain again
Falling in my yard like an insta-pond
Falling on my head 'till it's super-soakder
I want to talk to my doggie posse
I want to let them know it's okay
I want to dive into a book now
Is it raining where you're at?

Ol' Cocoa Bear, our dachshund-spaniel mix, is getting more and more anxious in rain storms. She pants and whimpers, especially if we're in another room that she can't get to.  When we're not here at all, she's been known to chew up doorknobs.  We've tried thunder vests, relaxing sprays, even Benadryl.  Nothing works. 

It's hard to get any of them to go outside during the rain.  They rush to the door to go out, hear the rain, and scoot back inside.  Sometimes it makes for some unfortunate accidents.  We might have to get a retractable dome for our backyard.

After an extended dry spell, we now have rain in the forecast every day for the foreseeable future.  I don't know when I'm going to be able to mow the yard.  I don't really care, but I don't want to embarrass the neighborhood too bad.  We need to live here, at least while Alison is working with the school system, and I'm already living on the edge of acceptance, what with my signs for Democratic candidates.

Which I haven't put up yet.  I have a Lisa Ring sign in my car.  It'll need to stop raining before I stake it in my yard.  I have a Bernie bumper sticker on my car.  That's pretty unusual in this area.  And when I put up my Lisa Ring sign, it will be the only Democratic candidate sign in my neighborhood, surrounded by a sea of Republicans.

My 'accounting reign is finally slowing down.  Work should be fairly limited until the summer audit picks up.  At least that's the theory. 

My next writing focus is to edit once again Crowley Stories, this time using Grammarly. Then I'm going to polish a synopsis and cover letter and send it out to a publisher who might consider it.  It's a hybrid publisher, which means there's self-publishing elements to it, which I could really use even it costs some money.  I think Crowley Stories is a sensational book, a powerful collection of Southern Swamp Town stories, but I will admit.  I have no real confirmation of this.  I'm operating on faith alone.  Ultimately, you write something YOU want to read and just hope it is something that others may want to come along for the ride.

Anyhoo, I probably should get on to other things.  I love the blog.  I will keep the blog.  But the blog in and of itself is not a direct source of creative income.  It gets steady traffic, about 2 to 3 thousand views a month.  But that has been true for several years now.  I had hoped there would be an incremental rise over time, but that has not happened.

Wait. Was I saying goodbye for this blog entry?

I think I was trying to.

OK, then.

Until next blog post!

Toiling Through the Fog Tuesday Tidbits

I am  slowly ascending from the reigns of incoherency this morning.

Sleep patterns shifting as I try to adjust to an ever changing schedule.

Took a goody chunk to fall asleep.  Then woke up an hour or so later, and took another two hours or so to get back to sleep.  Ibuprofen PM,  and later, melatonin, were used.  Then when it came time to rise, the mind remains clouded.

I need to establish a cleaner routine.  I require less sleep than most, and mu body adjusts in a way that only lets me get that amount, usually five to six hours.  If I get more one night, I sleep less the next.  It's hard to sleep an average of more than that five to six.

Right now, I'm getting less than that.  I think to straighten out, I'm going to have to get up earlier, and return to a schedule of walking.

Well, in theory.  we'll see.

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Now that I've kvetched, let me say that some of my conversations with others makes me feel like two elderly men trying to one up each other at the nursing home with tales of how much worse off they are than the other.  Your stomach hurts?  Ha!  Most of mine has been taken out!  You say the dinner tastes bad!  Ha!  I can't even taste anymore - the meds have stolen my taste buds!  You say you're constipated today?  Ha!  My last comfortable bowel movement was during the Reagan administration!

You say your Grandkids don't visit often enough?  Ha!  Mine put a restraining order on me!

You say you feel tired and burnt out today?  Ha!  That's been me since Sixth Grade!

And on it goes.  Maybe I shouldn't kvetch.  He who kvetches should be prepared for the flack-back super kvetches.

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Does anyone really like okra?  I do not.

Okay.

I thought I had more to say about this but I don't.

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I realize that Vice President Mike Pence is no prize in the Crackerjack box.  But we can't reward the dangerous and criminal behavior, the boorish ignorance and blatant racism of the current President, just because we're afraid of Mike "The Handmaid's Tale" Pence.

It's not pleasant, but we have to face it.  Russian influenced elections have consequences. 

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I've heard some speculate that some Trumpeteers won't turn on him until the economy sours.  Jeesh.  I guess it has to hurt them personally before they turn on him.  What he does to others doesn't matter to them.

I don't wish ill of the economy.  I wish people would wake up on their own.

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I like pizza.

Okay.

I can't elaborate on that either.  At least not right now.

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The fog of my brain has lifted a little.  I suppose I must now prepare for the work I have failed to extricate myself from.

I need to become a voice artist for audio books.

You say you want to make a living reading audio books?  Ha!  I would like to make a living diving for pearls!  See?  Look, I already got the oxygen tank!  Nurse!  Can you move this fairy-tale soaked moron to another table?

And so it goes,

T. M. Strait

Dreary Tuesday Tidbits

Well, a quick variety pack to start off this post-Championship Tuesday.

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The team that should not have been in the playoffs won the college football championship.  That does not mean that I think it justifies their inclusion.  Might does not make right.  The playoffs should have been against conference champions. 

In that regard, Alabama should send a thank you note to the Wisconsin Badgers.  Had the Badgers defeated OSU, Alabama would be looking at this from the outside.  In other conferences, one loss could take you out - not so in the SEC.

The game was well in hand until Alabama suddenly remembered that they had the highest rated quarterback prospect in the history of mankind sitting on their bench.  It's like halfway through the Super Bowl, Atlanta suddenly realized they had Joe Montana in his prime just sitting on the bench.

M. Brown of Alabama may be the meanest player I have ever seen.  And I don't mean in a good way.

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The musical, The Addams Family, is going to be a struggle for me, at least in the dancing portion. But I don't want anyone to give up on me.  I am going to do everything I can to do things right.  It won't come easily to me, but I am determined to pull my weight (which, trust me, is quite a bit of weight to pull).

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I am trying to help an event take place with an organization that I belong to, but I have never been more discouraged in my life.  Everything I try to resolve creates more problems.  It's like the many-headed Hydra - cut off one head, and ten more heads take its place.  It's exhausting and humiliating, and I feel like no matter what I do, I'm going to lose.

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I have to go to work today.  This year starts an "on-call" schedule, and I've gotten the call.  This may not work too well.  One of the reasons I'm in the South is because back in Michigan, the only job I had was as a substitute teacher.  And I could not get used to waking up and not knowing whether I would be called in or not.  I'm not good at last-minute schedule changes.  Since I left my home state in part to avoid an "on-call" job, I'm not sure how well this current plan is going to work out.

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I've felt that even though our current politics are dark and disastrous, that in time a Progressive Majority will emerge and move us towards a golden age, with universal health-care and other vital progressive measures. My hope for this is wavering.  The Trumpeteers are not waking up, regardless of how foul and destructive Trump and his allies are.  I fear we will lose our freedom of expression and our vote restricted and hampered before we can achieve anything.   

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The snow has melted off.  The higher temps are returning.  And so will the gnats.

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I'm doe tidbitting for now. 

Tryouts Tuesday Tidbits

I have not had the good fortune yet to see this play, but I plan to this weekend.  I've heard many good things about it, and I know it stars the incredibly gifted young talent, Marin Jeffords.  Please come out and kickstart your Christmas season with this great show!

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For awhile in this area, I was Mr. Christmas, playing, in relatively quick succession, Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street, and George Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life.  I love Christmas plays for the messages they bring, and because they usually have all age casts, and whole families participate in them. 

Coming off of two recent productions, The Odd Couple and The Model Apartment, I decided to take a short break.  So I reluctantly skipped this year's Christmas production.

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But that break is over now.  Benjamin wants to be in the WACT musical, so we both tryed out last night.  The musical is The Addams Family, which seems to be the "musical du jour" this season (a local high school is also doing the musical). We both felt good about our tryout, but we'll see.  I love acting with Benjamin, and I hope he gets a chance to sing onstage.

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One of the area's finest young actresses also tryed out, Emily Beck,  She is a dead ringer for Wednesday Addams, an exceptional actress and a great singer.  She can also dance!

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The devolution of our politics continues at a frightening rate.  The recent results in Virginia and other places gave me hope that we had reversed the tide.  But the Alabama Senate election has me gloomy again.  Really, white evangelicals?  You're thinking of voting for am alleged pedophile (and I must add, multiple accusations that are well sourced) over a prosecutor who helped convict KKK members that killed four young girls?  How is this not a no-brainer?  What is there to think about? 

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Speaking of Alabama, no, they should not be in the college playoffs.  That should be reserved for conference champions.  If college championships don't mean anything, why bother playing them?  I have a system for this, which I hope to flesh out in an upcoming blog story.  Stay tuned, because once the idea is out there, I'm sure it will sweep the nation.

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Speaking of football, I didn't see it, but I understand there was a horrifying injury in last night's pro game.  I keep thinking it may be time to give up on football as a spectator sport, and Alison and I have been watching less, but no, I haven't given it up all together. 

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Sometimes Grammarly kicks in on my computer,  Sometimes it does not.  Today, for this blog, it is taking a leave of absence.  If they really want to buy their premium service, they're going to have to convince it can consistently appear wherever I write, including Microsoft Word, my primary writing program.


Ta-Ta for now,

T. M. Strait

What Do I Write About?

What do I write about?

The weather?  I had a strong streak of weather related posts going there for awhile,  But now we have our first day here of weather approaching early fall/late summer temps ( projected high 73).  There are no active hurricanes hurtling towards us, and the horrible wildfires in California may be receding. Areas hit by devastation continue to slowly recover, except for Puerto Rico, whose recovery is being hampered by the bigoted, hateful reactions of the President.

Politics?  What else can I say?  No matter what he does, the Trumpeteers stay strong in their delusional state.  I'm sure my readership has suffered by losing those who don't want their beautiful minds disturbed by constant reference to the horrible mistake so many have made, and have been unable to own up to the terrible consequences of their decision, and even more brutally, their continued support of that vile being.

Fiction and poetry?  In the last day I have prepared a new poem and story to enter in to the Okefenokee Writer's Guild writing contest.  But I probably won't put those on the blog until after the contest results are announced. Hopefully, I'll write some other new things in the next two weeks. 

My semi-retirement?  Yeah, somehow I'm finding less time than I thought I would have.  It's good to be busy, though.  But I do need to structure the time better to achieve some longer term goals.  I'm going to reach my hour cap this week, so I should be able to have more time next week, and get my secondary careers into higher gear.  I  should also note the Higgnison & Paulk is moving next week to a new location.  Everything is being boxed up this week.

My health?  I try not to post too much about that.  I don't want to seem like a kvetcher.  I'm too fat, and I'm still having a rough time getting a handle on it.  I hurt my back last weekend, and my movement is limited.  It hurts particularly when I get up to move after sitting or laying down for awhile.  This morning, I have to watch how I sit or it hurts while I'm writing.  It's all good, though.  I've had it before, and it does fade with time.  I hope soon, because I would like to get back to walking.

Sports?  I'm close to abandoning football.  Atlanta Falcons can't hold a lead (STILL), the Detroit Lions are just plain cursed, the Michigan Wolverines are proving they are not a national championship caliber team.  But hey - Go Dawgs!  And then there's the whole injury and concussion thing.  In other sports - I am excited that Atlanta United is going to the playoffs in their inaugural season!  Woohoo!  Both Alison and I have caught soccer fever, thanx and a hat's tip to my son, Doug!

TV and movies?  Still catching up from so many nights spent at the community theater.  And haven't been to a movie since The Kingsman sequel.  It and Blade Runner 2049?  Nope - haven't seen them yet.  Benjamin likes The Gifted.

Reading?  Slowly reading a biography of Thomas Jefferson  and Quest for the Spark, a novel based on Jeff Smith's Bone series.  I'm quite a bit behind on my comic book reading.  The new Superman comic books are the balm.

So, yeah, basically nothing to write about.

Maybe better luck tomorrow.

Wednesday Weatherings

That is not a picture of Houston.

It is a picture of Mumbai.

Yesterday, Mumbai received a record amount of rainfall.  This from an area prone to monsoons.  A record.

We are recording more 100 year weather events all around the world.

Global warming increases, in places, the moisture content in the air and clouds, and when it comes down, it comes in record amounts.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Sit'n'Spin (Harvey) is coming back shore again, after a brief visit to the Gulf, and is aimed at both Texas and Louisiana.

Recovery efforts from this storm will likely reach in excess of $100 billion dollars.  Texas conservatives are putting their socialist hats on.  They'll put their conservatives hats back on when the damage is done to them damn Yankee lands.

Speaking of hats, President "Buy my beautiful $40 campaign hat" Trump came in for a quick sit'n'spin of his own.  He is giddy with delight that he gets to deal with this big storm - THE BIGGEST EVER!!! -  and is thrilled with the RATINGS and ATTENTION.  Wow, FEMA guy! You're on TV so much you're going to be FAMOUS!!!  Because that's what it's all about, isn't it? Ratings and fame.

With weather patterns changing, with storms intensifying, I fear this will not be the only storm that brings horrific damage and threat to life.  We choose not to spend on global warming, developing saner methods of energy.  Some of us even waste the Earth's time and resources denying its very existence.

The cost from the damages of these storms will far exceed the cost of becoming world leaders again in the fight to halt and reverse global warming.  Catastrophe is more expensive than greening the economy.

Mumbai.  Houston.  New Orleans.

Who is next?

Saddle Up Tuesday Tidbits

Sometimes all you can do is saddle back up and try, through a brain freeze or blues, through the silent fog  of recessed coherence or a cacophonous noise that shatters focus on any one thought.

So here I try again, hoping that I can write something, because a day without writing is like a runner who doesn't get out for his morning jog.  It gives you a gitchy, incomplete feeling for the rest of the day.

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I am approaching that special age when one first qualifies for Social Security, at least those who want to draw at the earliest eligible age.  How long that will last, before the Republicans bump it up, is any one's guess.  Or if even they keep the Social Security system at all.

I have set to begin drawing on August 1.  I will still be working part time in accounting, and between all sources of income and retirement, I will be contributing as much or more than I am now.

The eventual goal is to earn money, within the allowed limits, at things I love to do.  That would involve more writing, and other things involving the story-telling arts.  That might include, in addition to writing, work as a docent or teaching classes, extra work in movies and television, audio recordings, just to name a few.

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I was moving forward on my health plans, but my diet received a serious setback this last weekend. We had not one but two church buffet style meals, and I'm afraid my middle name became Overindulgence.  I gained back 3.8 pounds, the first dramatic weekend gain-back since I started trying again.  It wiped away about three weeks worth of progress.  Oh, well.  I just gotta get back in the saddle again.

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No, I have not seen Wonder Woman yet.  That's to come this weekend for my birthday.  We hope to see it at the fanciest screen we can find, and  hopefully, that will scoop in a trip to my favorite bookstore, Chamblin Book Mine.  It has a wonderful labyrinth quality to it that is really special.  And a trip to a favorite restaurant,  possibly The Cheesecake Factory.

Yeah, I can see that weekends are going to be a problem on this diet thing.

Sigh.

Thanks for tidbitting  with me for a little while.  Maybe I'll have a clearer, more focused topic on Wednesday.

Or maybe I'll just wander.