How about that Rebecca? Wasn't "is there a price tag on your ass?" something?
As good as it was, it's not why I'm late in posting. Sherry e-mailed thinking I wasn't posting because of the fact that I wanted to be sure everyone read Rebecca's post. (From the e-mails, everyone did.) The reason I'm late is because I made a committment to get a chapter up this week. That's hard anytime but especially when filling in. (I love filling in.)
C.I. and Kat both called this evening (together) and said, "Let's hear it." So I gave them scraps I had so far and they were kind enough to point out that Robert Novak had already been dressed up as Mary Pickford (I'd had him dressed up as Garbo in the drafts I was working on).
So with a lot of encouragement, I managed to finish and post the latest chapter "The War Paint Council." I think it's funny. I'm not sure of the spelling of Sherman and Leona's last name (or names if they spell it differently) but I thought, "What the heck."
It's up. I wish I thought it was as funny as Kat and C.I. do. After I'd started picking a paragraph here and there and doctoring a sentence, I called them back and read the version that went up. They were laughing and encouraging.
Is it any good? I never know. On the one hand, I hope someone who stumbles across it finds something that makes them grin or laugh. But I know that not everyone reads Thomas Friedman and you may need to read him (I'm not recommending it) to get what I'm trying to do. (You may not.)
Whenever one first goes up, all I know is that I'm not happy with it. "For" or "from"? I posted the chapter, then went back and changed that. Then changed it again.
Then I realized, I'd only end up chaning more and more so I should leave it alone. And, by the way, Betty here subbing for Rebecca while she's on vacation. Probably should have put that in the first sentence.
But no, I never know when it goes up what anyone's going to think. When I'm writing it, I'm focused on what I want to say. When I hit the "publish post" button is when I really start to think about whether anyone will think it's funny or not.
Sometimes they do (the community and a number of visitors are very kind) and sometimes they don't (I get patches of hate mail from time to time -- that's fine as long as they aren't being racist or making threats).
Elaine's back from her vacation (but I don't think she's posting tonight -- it's late and she has last night's post up but nothing new) and I wanted to say that I thought Sunny did a wonderful job filling in. I really enjoyed reading Sunny's writing.
And I enjoy your e-mails that you're sending care of this site too. I hope no one's upset when I say, "I can't answer that now." I really would love to answer some questions about Betinna. I will go ahead and say that in August, unless something changes, the Friedman will hit the fan. This is what a number of things have been leading up to. And following that, Betinna will begin seeing Elaine as a patient. That's all I can say.
Well, I can say the novel will end in November of 2008. Will the site end then? I don't know. I have so much fun here that I wonder if when the novel wraps up, maybe I should then just blog?
It really is fun doing this. Rebecca's kind and says not to worry about anything -- typos, language, you name it. So there's a freedom here that I don't have at my own site where there are things I want to say but can't because I always have to factor in if it's something Betinna would do?
This is so much more fun. All I knew when I logged on was that I'd include the Iraq snapshot at the end. That's so much easier than grabbing the legal pads, the outline, Thomas Friedman's columns and then attempting to figure out what I can write based on all that.
Goldie wrote a lovely e-mail about Friday's post wondering if I was in favor of censorship? No. But I am in favor of responsibility and the world didn't end because Timberlake bared Jackson's breast at the Superbowl but I did think it was embarrassing for her and, by proxy, for Black women.
But I will add, sorry, Goldie, that I do think parents need to figure out what they're okay with. If you're okay with everything, that's fine. I'm not going to tell you how to raise your children, don't tell me how to raise mine. But a lot of people who aren't fine with everything get bent out of shape when their child sees or hears something that they (the parents) could have prevented exposure to in the first place.
What worries me the most is the continued glamorization of violence. That's in so many songs today, in the words stumbling from the Bully Boy's lips and in our 'journalism.'
Take Janet's breast. I would have been far less offended if a man hadn't been ripping her blouse off. When you add in that she's Black and he was White and there's a whole history there in this country, it was just too much for me. I didn't contact the FCC or the network. (I did contact ABC when they were attempting to have Justin host a Motown special right after that. I found that offensive.) If Janet had ripped off her own blouse, I would've rolled my eyes.
I bet many would have. I think that was part of the violence in our culture. They're supposedly singing a song and there's Justin ripping off her blouse. That's not sexy. In a video, maybe it would have been. In front of a large, present audience, it was one more time when a woman was treated as meat and it was one more time when a Black woman was offered up for the fantasies of others by a White male.
Janet's breast itself didn't concern too much. I honestly don't remember it. I'm sure it was lovely. But we were watching, my family, and I and there was just a stunned silence the moment after Timberlake ripped her blouse. Then there was a lot of talk about how offensive that was in terms of race.
That's where I went right away myself. But I also brought up the issue of they were attempting to be sexy and how is a man ripping off a woman's blouse to a crowd of people (many of them male) sexy?
Janet stopped being an artist in that moment and was nothing but a flesh offering.
Had she ripped her own blouse, I would've rolled my eyes. But there were a number of dynamics involved (rape and violence being only two) and I remember my own first reaction, while everyone sat in silence, was to immediately look at my sons who were both playing with their backs to the TV. (My daughter was asleep in my lap.)
Not all the kids missed it. My nephews and nieces were glued to the TV when it happened. I don't think they're damaged for life but I also think I would be worried about it if we all hadn't been present and discussing it.
I know parents can't always do that. When the kids are watching cartoons, I'm in the kitchen cooking dinner or fixing breakfast. That's why it's PBS Kids. I don't have to worry about the violence. My oldest hears about shows on TV from his friends and sometimes he'll want to watch them. He asked about Everybody Hates Chris and I told him, "I'm willing to bet there are things you will see that you know you will not do unless you want to be punished. Remember that. Now go watch it."
Why? I've heard good things about it and there are so few TV shows with Blacks on them and even fewer where there's more than one character. With that show, it's Chris' story. I wouldn't let his younger brother watch it alone. (Or with his brother.)
There are a lot more shows that I say no to. For instance, he's in elementary school, who's watching Desperate Housewives? I said, "No, you are not watching that. Why do you want to watch it? What did you hear?" He said they "do" a "lot of things." He means sex which he's not old enough to grasp. But it was summer and he'd heard about it all last year so he wanted to check it out. He knew "no" meant "no." We did watch Lost together because that was a show he'd heard about too. It was over his head. If I had the time, he could watch whatever he wanted because I'd sit down and watch it with him and after we could discuss it. But I don't have that time and he needs a life outside of TV.
When he's Goldie's age, he'll have more freedom. But he's not a teenager and he doesn't need to be waiting for some 'racy' bit that he's not going to understand and will probably screw with his head. (I'll tell a story about a friend sometime and how her head got screwed with when she was a kid.)
We have two TVs in the house. One is my room and is only on if the kids are in here in with me. The other is in the living room. That makes it easier for me to know what's being watched. As they get older, if they want their own TVs, it'll be fine. (But I'm not paying for cable. That was my oldest's reaction to my job promotion. He asked, "Are you going to make more money?" When I said I was he said, "Yes! Cable!" We've got bills that are necessary and we have other things to take care of before I'll pay for cable.)
Online, I've got AOL and have the child protection on. He complains about that, my oldest, so I gave him password and told him I'd be checking on where he went so he better keep it clean. He came running into the kitchen last weekend, very upset. He'd gone to a site from a search and he was convinced I was going to say "No more computer!"
We went and looked. It's a site he shouldn't have been at. He went there through a search, I used the "back" button and it wasn't his fault. We talked about the site and I told him not to worry about it because it wasn't his fault.
So that's to answer Goldie's questions.
I'll post the snapshot and then I'm going to bed. I can't believe how late it is.
C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
If you missed it, all is well and good in Iraq.
Or that's the latest Operation Happy Talk spin we're all supposed to get behind. The Associated Press leads the pack (I'm sure the Times will grab the baton tomorrow) in trumpeting the fact that a single province is now under Iraqi control. Any questions about the nature of this province could be put to rest by noting the dwindling coalition's fatality figures for that province (non-existant) but reality must never mar happy talk. As AFP notes: "Aside from Basra, most southern provinces are considered fairly stable and several are slated for security handovers in the next few months -- though coalition force officials admit that immediately following the handovers security may decline as insurgents test the system."
Which is why the AP trumpets the 'small' number of US troops who've lost their lives thus far this month (11) while burying the fact that Iraqi witnesses saw a US helicopter shot down today. ("Iraqi authorities said the helicopter was shot down near Youssifiyah, 12 miles southwest of Baghdad in an area where al-Qaida in Iraq and other insurgents operate. The Iraqis spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to media.") Reuters notes the helicopter was on a "combat air patrol."
Things look peaceful?
Earlier today, the AP reported on a bombing of a village council headquarters in Baghdad (bicycle bomb, at least four council members left dead) and the shooting death of a police officer -- in the city under a month's "crackdown." Terry McCarthy (ABC -- America) reports on how fake identification sells for the US equivalent of ten and fifteen dollars and many Iraqis are puchasing them to reduce risk to their lives at checkpoints. McCarthy reports: "Now many Iraqis carry two IDs in their pockets and will produce one or the other, depending on who is asking for it." Packing your fake i.d.? Don't forget your gun. Mariam Karouny (Reuters) takes a look at the conditions that lead many of Baghdad's seven million to arm themselves as the chaos and violence continues around the country and in the capital.
That's reality and some correspondents (such as reportedly one with the New York Times) calling the Bully Boy and his 'plan' for Iraq "delusional" at a college appearance is meaningless when he continues to churn out the sort of nonsense at his paying job that prolongs the delusion.
Other bombs across the country. Reuters reports bombs in Mosul (roadside, five wounded) where a bomber took his own life and six others in a city council in Abi Saida while a car bomb killed four people and wounded at least nineteen; a car bomber took his own life and that of three others in Kirkuk (at least eight more wounded); and mortar rounds in Baghdad left two wounded. The AFP reports a bomb in Baghdad took the lives of five "municipal road sweepers."Kidnappings?
The AP reports a kidnapping attempt on a wrestler and wrestling coach that left the coach, Mohammed Karim Abid Sahib, dead (the wrestler managed to escape).
Corpses?
Reuters notes three corpses discovered near Muqdadiya (three brothers who had been kidnapped the day before).
And in the United States, Joe Biden is raising doubts about Nouri al-Maliki's efforts as prime minister.
But surely, the most important point today is that a restive province with little violence will now be babysat by Iraqi forces (who may find it not so restive, as the AFP noted). And surely, mainstream correspondents will continue to churn out the spin that prolongs the illegal war while wanting points for being "brave" while speaking to college audiences.
