Monthly Archives: April 2013

April 7, 2013 · 10:46 am

Silly Bills

by David E. Booker

O’, Pause and let us now behold
the elected intelligence in all its mold.
Bills run amuck of mind and light:
Sufficient fright for a Halloween night.
And there was more, lest you forget
a bill to take away your right to vote yet
for the U.S. Senator of your choice
Enlightened legislators said, “That’s our voice.”
Only a call from fed Senator Corker
prevented that piece of legislative porker.
Many other state bills ceased to be
because big money donors were displeased.
So, say what you will about money buying votes.
It may not get bills passed; but it can get them smote.

________

Tennessee State flag: 0' what trouble can they conceive when the state GOP is allowed to breathe.

Tennessee State flag: 0′ what trouble can they conceive when the state GOP is allowed to breathe.

NASHVILLE — On the state Senate floor last week, Sen. Brian Kelsey brought up a resolution that he explained as putting senators on record as declaring “if the federal government tries to infringe on our rights as American citizens, then we will intervene and fight for those rights.”

This prompted Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris to ask his fellow Republican how the resolution (SR17) differed from perhaps the most prominent of several bills introduced this year to nullify federal laws and subject federal officers to prosecution should they try to enforce them.

For the rest of the story, follow this link:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2013/apr/07/tennessee-gop-supermajority-eases-up-on-silly/

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April 5, 2013 · 4:05 am

Eleanor and Rose, and “The Case of the Fleaing Colors,” part 15

Part 15: The hat matters.

Part 15: The hat matters.

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April 4, 2013 · 4:04 am

Haiku to you Thursday: “Adventures”

Flower bends to the wind; /
bee bends to the flower’s desires: /
pollen adventures.

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April 3, 2013 · 4:03 am

Writing tip Wednesday: “Getting rid of was”

PenPal says:

Here is one of the quickest and easiest ways to strengthen your writing:

1. Take a page of prose (or several pages at a time) and find how many times you used the word “was.” To do this on your computer, hold down both Control and the F key for a moment until a search box pops up. In that box, type the word “was” and then click the search button. Your computer will then highlight the word each time it appears in your manuscript. If you are handwriting or have printed out your page(s), take a highlighter and manually highlight the word “was” each time you find it.

2. Read through and choose an active verb to replace the word “was” in as many cases as possible (aim for replacing at least 50%, preferably about 90%).

Sometimes “was” is the best verb choice, but more often a stronger verb will help elevate your writing to a higher interest level. If getting rid of an unnecessary, boring “was” requires minor rewording, do it!

Examples:
A. The muddy dog was on his master’s clean bed.
B. The muddy dog sprawled on his master’s clean bed.

A. Behind the barn, there was a pile a leaves the children were jumping in.
B. Behind the barn, the children jumped in a pile of leaves.

A. Two thousand twelve was a very good year.
B. Two thousand twelve was a very good year. (Sometimes “was” really does work best.)

Keep writing and revising!

________

Cathy Kodra a/k/a PenPal

Cathy Kodra a/k/a PenPal

About PenPal…
Cathy Kodra works as an independent editor in Knoxville, TN. Her poetry and short stories have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies including Roanoke Review, New Millennium Writings, Common Ground Review, Now & Then, Cavalier Literary Couture, Slow Trains, Still Crazy, The Medulla Review, Prime Mincer, Yemassee, and others. She is a contributing editor for New Millennium Writings and past guest poetry editor for The Medulla Review. She was first runner up in Prime Mincer’s 2011 Poetry Contest, judged by Rodney Jones, and took first place in the 2012 Old Gray Cemetery Poetry Contest. Cathy’s first poetry chapbook, Thin Ice, was published in 2011 by Medulla Publishing.

Cathy is a member of the Knoxville Writers’ Guild and of two local writing groups. An avid reader and writer, she is currently working on two poetry collections and a collection of short stories. Her hobbies include gardening and vegan cooking, and she lives happily with her husband Ron, two dogs, and a cat. She can be reached at www.cathykodra.com.

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April 2, 2013 · 4:02 am

Eleanor and Rose, and “The Case of the Fleaing Colors,” part 14

Part 14: The hat points the way, more or less.

Part 14: The hat points the way, more or less.

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April 1, 2013 · 4:01 am

Four in ten people cruel to the Internet

Palo Alto, CA — Have you been cruel to your Internet? The Society for Prevention of Internet Cruelty (T-SPIC) would like to know.

Recent studies by this quasi-governmental, quasi-NGO (Non-governmental organization), quasi-modem group have revealed that up to 4 in 10 people are cruel to the Internet.

“It is often those unaware they abusing their Internet that are the worst offenders,” spokes-bot RU4ME recently stated in a released statement. “They spend unnecessary time on a web site, or even leave their browser up and focused not on one, but two, four, six and more tabs or windows open on web sites they will not visit again. Or they forward an e-mail to a group of friends and family, but never remove the three lists of thirty deep names of people who were forwarded to originally, then somebody in that group forwarded to thirty more people, and one of them forwarded to this person and twenty-nine others, and now this person is forwarding with all these other e-mails still showing, like a line of toilet paper stuck on your shoe during your wedding day march down the aisle.”

The Internet has feelings, too.

The Internet has feelings, too.

Then there are those who purposely target the Internet for cruelty. According to T-SPIC, there’s a man who lives in a small apartment in No Name, Kentucky, whose goal is to drive the Internet out of business. Toward that end, he mails out certificates to people all across the country saying they don’t have to pay their Internet bill for the next three months.

T-SPIC also claims to have a record of a woman who denies the Internet even exists. She claims it it is another one of those “gubment ho-axes,” like cell phones. “After all,” she says, “it was that gubment man Gore that claims he invented it. Next thing you know,” she goes on to say, “you’ll be telling me that moon landing malarkey was all real.”

RU4ME says if you suspect somebody of being cruel to the Internet, please give them a call. The number is 010-101-0101.

“Without the public’s help,” RU4ME stated in her statement, “we will not be able to put an end to this unspoken atrocity occurring right under our keystrokes.”

“The Internet is a vibrant, living entity,” RU4ME says. “It has feelings. Cruelty to the Internet is not a crime, but it ought to be.”

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