Author: Shelley Powers

Categories
Just Shelley

Nuff Nuff

I want to play. Really play, without deadlines hanging over my head. Without holding up long suffering editors. Free. Clear. Really play.

For instance, lots of talk about Jaguar and I want to install this on my PowerBook. And I want to wipe my Dell laptop clean and re-install Red Hat sans the dual boot with Windows 2000. I want to finally make the move to non-Windows (though I’ll most likely install Virtual PC and Windows 2k on the Mac).

And I want to finish up ThreadNeedle and the new Here’s My List application. Why? Because I want you to play, and me to be finished. Boy, you don’t know how much I want to be finished. The code doesn’t flow from my fingers; it drips out, line by line.

I want to read the books you’ve recommended to me, and I also want to read or re-read every book (well, almost every book) on the ALA banned book list, and contribute my part to the Banned Books Project. After all, considering my upbringing, I have a moral obligation to get involved.

And I want to write about my hometown. There’s stories in that little town, more than you can see in the New York Times article, though this might give you an glimmer of what one can expect.

I want to write about the bride buried on her wedding day and the gold mine abandoned so quickly, rusted tools are still stuck in the wall. And I want to tell you the tale of the crazy old man who killed my Dad’s partner with a shotgun when they went to the shooter’s cabin. Or about the fences with signs saying “Trespassers will be shot”, posted by people who mean every word.

I want to describe nights filled with the cry of cougars, and the scream of prey. And to tell you about the ghost cat who lived on an island in the lake.

To share with you moments such as walking through fruit trees with my gentle Welsh grandfather, him picking a peach from a tree and cutting slices with his pocket knife to give to me. Biting into sun warmed fruit, juices flowing down my chin as I meet the smile in his eyes.

Perhaps I’ll write it as an online book, as others have considered or started. Doesn’t this sound like fun?

Okay. Shelley’s reached a book burnout moment. Yup, all the symptoms are there.

I’ll be good tomorrow, but for tonight, I’m going to bed early and cozy up with the Sportswriter. Oh, and a book, too. To read.

Categories
Just Shelley

Tinker Tinker

New tagline, by mutual dare with Dorothea. What the hey? I’m now going by Burningzilla and I have a blazing toad for an icon. (No, that is NOT a Jersey torch!)

Now, if I can effect sweetness and light throughout all my interactions with others, my transformation into something totally unrecognizable as “Burningbird”, would be complete.

Though, after Dorothea’s new digs, I’m hankering for a new look. However, must finish book. Must finish RDF Book! Must! Must! Stop writing to the weblog, Shelley! Stop it now!

Oh, no! I can’t stop! I can’t help myse…

 

Please excuse the interruption. Shelley has been admitted to the Betty Ford clinic for Hopelessly Addicted Webloggers through the efforts of Mike Golby. Mike, recognizing an advanced case of blogaholism, scheduled an Intervention with all of Shelley’s weblogging friends, who quite gleefully and with unusual enthusiasm threw her down, wrapped her up tight, and hauled her off.

 

When last seen, Burningbird was trying to type into a keyboard with her nose and tongue, hands bound behind her back, being fed an occasional Tim Tam. Mocha Tim Tams.

Categories
Weblogging

Doc screwed the pooch

Doc must be tired from all that traveling when he wrote today:

Oh: when you get tired of all the male kinda shit that seems to comprise 5/4 of the blog world (techblog or warblog… now there’s a sexy selection), wander on over to the smartest babeblogs on the Web…

I know that Doc couldn’t possibly mean to come across so absolutely, completely, and without any excuse sexist. I had to check the calendar to see if, somehow, all of weblogging was magically transported back in time to the 50’s when I read this post.

Categories
Weblogging

Ooo! I like it!

Dorothea has rolled out the new weblog and it is very very very cool!

The writing will still be Dorothea, regardless of the look of the weblog, but I really do prefer the warmer colors and unique and snazzy design. I particularly like that little side box at the start of each posting.

Run over, take a peek, bring her some cookies–you know what we do in weblogging when someone’s moved.

(And Dorothea, the stretched image is just fine. In fact, I think it looks better stretched than not. But I have a feeling I’m in big trouble with Mr. Delacour now….yes, just checked. Oh, no! My cookies!)

Categories
Political

Vote the Blog, baby

I am impressed with this renewed zeal to get out the vote. Off year elections in the US tend to be walkaways, with less than 50% of the people voting. Anything that gets people into the polls is a Good Thing. However, before we all pick a candidate that we’re sure we can get elected (if we only pool ALL of our weblog votes), time for a little reality check: is the person we pick the person we really want?

There is one reason why the American government doesn’t seem to represent the American people: time. We don’t invest the time necessary to vote wisely, and after the elections, we don’t invest the time to monitor our government carefully.

Not enough people exercise their priviledge to vote in this country, and because of this, those that are voted in don’t necessarily represent the interests of all Americans. You (yes, you) can’t bitch about the state of affairs in this country if you don’t vote. And I don’t want to hear, “But my vote doesn’t make a difference…I can’t control the government…they’re all corrupt, anyway”. Doesn’t matter boys and girls: if you don’t vote, you’re part of the problem not the solution.

In some ways, though, what’s worse than not voting is that when we do vote, we tend to vote based either on party or a single issue. Rather than look at each candidate individually and vote for whomever best represents our interests, we vote straight Republican, straight Democrat, or straight (some other party). Or we vote based on one issue, such as the issue of copyright law that has fired the weblogging world up with such reformational zeal.

As an example of single issue zeal, we sought out a candidate, Tara Grubb, who is an opponent to Howard Coble. We did this because of Coble’s support of the infamous Berman-Coble bill. If we can elect Tara, we’ll send a message to congress. We are Webloggers, hear us roar!

But what of Tara’s support on other issues? What of Coble’s? Is copyright law sufficient enough reason to elect one over the other? Are you willing to accept everything about a candidate, all the other issues they support or don’t, because of copyright?

I have a set of issues that are important to me. They include our policies in the Middle East, our environmental policies, health care in the world, women’s rights, fair trade, and so on. Copyright is in the list, but it’s wa-a-y down.

I would be more interested in a candidate that promises to force Bush into keeping our pledge to the United Nations Population Fund. I would be more interested in a candidate that pushes Congress into passing the Treaty for the Rights of Women. Why? Because once we have a baseline, we can go after behavior such as the woman sentenced to being stoned to death in Nigeria. (And don’t think the US will come off free from this treaty–we’re not pure in this regard.)

I would be more interested in a candidate who would fight the current administration’s abuse of war time powers and the so-called enemy combatant provision to deprive American citizen’s their rights by law. I would be more interested in a candidate that didn’t support the current administration’s aggressive behavior in the Middle East, in particular Iraq (and soon to be Saudi Arabia and Iran, I’m sure).

I would support a candidate that forced our government to follow through on our Kyoto agreement, and that didn’t seek to push our genectically altered corn and food on the rest of the world. I would support a candidate that sought to ensure our country treated fairly and honorably with other countries. I would support a candidate who sought to bring us back into the world that we are becoming increasingly alienated from.

If, after all of that, there was any room left, I would support a candidate that believed in a fair and equitable copyright policy.

(Speaking of weblogging and politics, we threw Tara into weblogging with no prior experience or exposure of either weblogging or the Internet, and then thrust the limelight on her before she has a chance to get a feel for all of this. And we’re trying to help this woman?)