. Spinning .

Actually, when you need to produce a legal, certified (seal) birth certificate to start school, get married, obtain a passport, and in certain schools play high school sports and in certain areas of employment that provide for the military or government as a supplier, the request for proof to become President of the U.S. when it’s a requirement doesn’t truly look all that strange. It should have already been established as procedure, maybe during campaigns, and would never have become such a big deal.

As usual, it’s all in the handling. The time gap certainly only proved to give rise to speculation and hoaxes on both sides of the argument and further divide political entities.

I’ve done this before with tuna cans and probably the coffee–did you know that once upon a time they put a full pound of coffee in that same size container that now holds anyplace from 11.5 to 13 ounces?–but here’s a brand new one.

Dial soap. See how it’s carved out at the top? Yes, it’s a new design, but it also has shaved .25 oz. off each bar. You used to get 4.25 oz. in a bar, now the bars are 4.0 oz. but the price has remained the same, or maybe gone up.

I fully understand that prices go up. Over the past 40 years I’ve seen things rise to ten times their cost. Houses ($40k to $400k), cars ($2k to $20k), a quart of milk $0.25 to $2.50), etc. A pound of coffee used to be $1.00. I don’t mind rising prices, though I wish salaries had gone up 1000% as well (minimum wage was $1.25, now $7.50). I understand that times change and costs and resulting prices adjust.

I just hate when marketing thinks itself clever and insults us with carving off .25 oz. of soap or packaging a half-full box of crackers.

Or maybe certain jobs, like singing and playing a guitar, or bouncing, throwing, running with, or kicking a ball is much harder than heading a company responsible to thousands of employees, thousands of shareholders, millions of consumers can possibly be.

Far be it for me to defend the high salaries of CEOs; after all, I still can’t accept a car costing $25,000 and a hamburger for $5. But there are some things that need to be looked at in perspective.

Top ten highest paid CEOs for 2010 gathered up $364 million!

Wow. That’s a lotta dough. Then again, I did a little poking around (Forbes and other sources) to find this:

Top ten highest paid athletes for 2010:  $454 million 

Top ten highest paid celebrities* under 30 for 2010:  $506 million

Top ten highest paid Hollywood stars for 2010:  $413 million

* #6 through #10 were athletes, and while Beyonce topped the list, Miley Cyrus at 17 and Taylor Swift at 19 were in the top five.

Surprising also to find that a top neurosurgeon (U.S. naturally) makes half a million. A top attorney (general counsel in corporate) makes about $4 million. Unless he also sings and plays guitar.

It all comes down to the simple premise of getting paid what the market will bear. Supply and demand. $100 seats for a game or concert, and I guess, $25,000 for a just-okay car.

Gawrsh, I’m so confused.

If the Democrats propose a bill and the Republicans don’t agree and hold it up, it’s the Republicans’ fault.

If the the Republicans propose a bill and the Democrats don’t agree and hold it up, it’s still the Republicans’ fault?

That ain’t the way my daddy taught me. He would’ve said there is no blame in a disagreement, only opposing views, and the only possible solution is compromise on both sides.

With the threat of a “government shutdown” looming, the extremists on both sides are getting crazy again. I must remember to go look outside tonight at the moon.

While I feel for federal government employees who are innocent of the situation–just as are the workers in the private sector and in the state and local public sector level–I sort of feel like everybody’s going to take a hit now and then and maybe it’s just their turn. A couple days’ without pay really isn’t going to cause a disaster for anyone financially or the public in losing the services for a few days.

And this is interesting to find, that the last furlough of federal workers was in 1995-96, and that they immediately got their pay restored as soon as possible. That hasn’t happened for anyone else. (Newser) *

Some more facts:

Six shutdowns occurred between fiscal year 1977 and fiscal year 1980 (Carter), ranging from eight to 17 full days, according to the report. From fiscal 1981 to 1995 (Reagan, Bush, Clinton), nine shutdowns occurred, lasting no longer than three full days.

In fiscal 1996, the first budget impasse led to a five-day shutdown from Nov. 13-19, 1995. The second shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, stretched 21 days from Dec. 15, 1995 to Jan. 6, 1996.  (Washington Post)

Look at Japan. Now there’s a disaster. And somehow, nobody’s running around screaming and ranting and pointing fingers. They accept what happened, adjust, and move on.

Honest, this country’s been through a lot worse. There are individuals who have lost their life savings, their homes, their families, and just about all hope. Somehow I can’t really get worked up about a government shutdown.

* Per Washington Watch, Senate Bill S. 776 “A bill to provide for the compensation of furloughed Federal employees” was in place even before the shutdown was averted.

Sometimes, in a calm lull of the writing process, you think you really don’t care about getting published since once your first story/poem/essay has been accepted, you’ve begun to call yourself a “writer.” You think the shine is off and yet you realize it comes anew with each and every “yes” just as the “no, sorry” can still pierce the skin–though it doesn’t cut to the heart the way it used to.

There was a day this past week where two of my pieces were published, one day after another. I was ecstatic! Both were solicited (versus normal submission) which is lately what I find myself doing–just because the submission process takes me so long to decide what to send and where to send it and how to keep track of it all. And one was in a print edition (Thunderclap Press) which still, regardless of how we feel about online literary magazines and our recognition of them as equal to print, still holds that little extra thrill leftover from the early days of ezines.

What cracks me up–though admittedly with a touch of sadness–is that aside from my fellow writers, my social network friends aren’t really impressed at all. I see tweets and posts that record each play of some televised game–a ball is thrown, carried, swatted, or kicked over some boundary and makes an extraordinary number of people excited. I admit that I’m not into most sports–a ball goes this way then that way then this way then that for a couple hours and that’s about all I make of it.

It dawned on me that this is reinforced at the college level, and starts early with Little League and elementary school sports and high school athletics. We’ve held onto that Adonis dream, that exultation of the human body, the athlete we shower with scholarships and contracts and advertising gigs and money beyond almost any other field of personal accomplishment. Americans, more than any other country, hold as their heroes their sports stars, their celebrity actors and actresses. All physical–very little cerebral idols here.

We don’t complain about Taylor Swift (and I like her) making $45,000,000 a year, or multi-million dollar contracts for playing basketball for a year. Somehow, we don’t want to look closely to see our money making them rich, but feel they deserve it because we’re entertained. Reading, I guess, is not entertainment any more. Writers don’t as a standard get paid anything for short stories and poems–they’re supposed to be content with the thrill of publication alone. Most writers of published books get very little, though big name celebrities (writers, yes, but sports stars and actors and politicians as well) and phenomenons are way up there in making money off a book.

You see, we don’t have readers willing to pay to read a story whereas we’re overloaded with watchers willing to pay big bucks to see a game played, or a concert or movie. And time is a factor as well, since these days, literature of all kinds, lengths and genres are available online for FREE. It takes about a minute to a minute and a half to read a 250 word flash fiction, which evidently is too long, even as we sit two to three hours watching a ball go this way and that, this way and that.

It’s times like this that I particularly wish that I were tall or pretty instead of smart. Or maybe I’m not so smart after all.

And, my respect. From WFSB:

“Tough times in Wethersfield mean nearly 50 teachers are being laid off.”

Yes, I feel bad for those teachers and I understand that it hurts the students a bit  (Wethersfield high school ranks 60th as a top school with a student:teacher ratio of 14:3). But their response?

“The school district has revised its request, asking for a 6 percent spending increase.”

What part of “we’re hurtin’ ” don’t these people understand? These bad times are temporary and in an idealistic world, everyone should be willing to sacrifice. Don’t they get it that the government doesn’t just print money to cover shortfalls? Don’t they understand that raising their budget (if approved) just translates into higher taxes on their private-sector neighbors who are likely holding onto their homes and their “new” jobs sweeping floors at Home Depot because that’s all they could get after two years of unemployment after being laid off from jobs that paid less than these teachers are making now? I’m sure they can stretch that minimum wage into paying another 6% in local taxes to cover somebody else’s job.

Where’s the fairness in that? Frankly, if you’ve managed to collect your salary for the past three years while people were losing their jobs and houses, (yes, everyone got furlough days and no raises), then you’re one of the lucky ones. And, if you were smart as well, you had these years to save up against the economy finally reaching you.

We’ve come a long way in improving the educational system, just as in all areas of life and innovation. But doesn’t it make just a bit of sense that if education was so bad, was so inadequate twenty, forty, years ago, that we wouldn’t have people smart enough to be teaching students today?

I own my own very small business. I’ve been hurt by the economy, just as everyone else has been. What if companies, in order to save jobs in hard times, simply said, “well, we’ll just raise prices again instead.” How do you think that strategy would play out?

Gone are the days when a Photoshopped Happy New Year! greeting will do on a weblog this last day of the year. Everyone seems to be listing achievements, successes, plans for the year ahead that will be both a challenge and an inspiration to bother working even harder next year.

2010 was a great year for me in the area of my writing. About 30 pieces published, including a hypertext and some images among the fiction. Might’ve even done better had I been organized enough to submit more work to more places. But the satisfaction of realizing a hope that you’re good enough to be published is both a blessing and a curse. You really need to keep up on it, not sit back and relax.

The highlight of the year has to be the coming-in-close in the Bartleby Snopes Dialogue Contest. No, wait–here’s the real thrill, winning the Eighth Glass Woman prize for “Wanderer.” Knowing so much more through Fictionaut about the writers I’m humbled to be alongside may be the biggest compliment and stamp of approval yet. These are writers, real writers. I feel like maybe I snuck in through the side door.

Anyway, my “list of literary accomplishments” is as always, on the “My Work” link. Beyond that, I wrote a story and made up an image every day for 100 days through the summer. I found myself listed in the Electronic Literature Organization Directory for the 100 Days Project of 100 hypertexts done in 2009. I’ve written a story each week for the 52/250 project since May, and will continue on that through May of this year. I wrote another 24 stories for another month-long project. All in all, I likely wrote about 150 stories this past year. Oh, and at the Tunxis 24-hour marathon in April, I produced a new hypertext piece.

Aside from writing, my other endeavors have not been as fruitful. I’ll learn, I suppose (and that’ll be a New Year’s resolution) not to keep knocking on doors that are closed to me. I’ve applied so many times for openings at a local place that they likely fear I’m a stalker. Same thing with writing; I’m learning that no, my work doesn’t “fit” at all at some venues, and why don’t I believe them? Rejections are never happy things, but it’s senseless to set yourself up for a fall when your style of writing is not only not what they want, but their literary tastes simply aren’t yours either. That’s diversity. That’s a good thing. Focus and research is the key, as every writer is told and for some reason, it doesn’t get through until the bright light pops on with the newsflash.

So there will be some dedicated focus this new year so not as much time and effort is wasted. I won’t send my resume out to places I wouldn’t want to work just to punish myself nor hit on places I’ve been turned down at a dozen times. Same thing with the writing. Organization, whether by Tinderbox software or by Duotrope Digest, will be the very first thing I do.

Projects, yes, I’m planning some projects. Personally, a new business of sorts. In writing, learning–no really, spending the time and finally learning–to more easily understand and implement HTML5, CSS3, JQuery, audio, and visuals into my work. Not written in stone, but somewhat man-made concrete: a hypertext novel; a traditional novel; putting together and marketing an anthology of short stories; an online new media magazine; and work that I love to do, am good at, and will produce some bit of income–in that order of importance. In addition, getting back into reading and reviewing my literature collection of classics on a regular basis. Though I’ve in truth spent more time reading than writing this year; hundreds and hundreds of flash and short fiction and poetry over at Fictionaut and 52/250 and many online zines. They’re really what has honed my own edge of writing as well as offered hours of delight in reading.

So I close the old year with some successes, many failures, but knowledge that promises. I will make time for old friends, make myself try some new things, spend less time on social networks and give reality more.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy, successfully satisfying New Year.

Getting dressed this morning and I’m curious, so I take a look. My jeans are made in Mexico. My Jockey’s brand panties are from Jamaica. My Outback brand turtleneck jersey’s made in Korea. My socks in China. My shirt, a fuzzy plaid put out by Tally-Ho, is made in Mexico, close by my jeans.

So what do we produce and if there’s anything at all, how much do we export?

I’m committed to not buying anything not made in the U.S.A but I’ve got things I’ve worn from decades ago when I never bothered checking labels. I don’t buy from Bean’s anymore, or Land’s End or any of the used-to-carry-American-made big names.

As you get dressed some morning, take a moment to check. And wonder why we’re slipping from the “greatest” country in the world.

Well, despite the fact that raw peanuts were nowhere to be found, the almonds as an alternative came out just fine. Expensive, but fine.The other problem I had was that towards the end of the first batch, the thermometer slipped in its holder and I realized that I wasn’t getting an accurate reading–about 20 degrees off–which is vital to candy-making. Once I learned how much to adjust for the next batches, I was okay, but yes, it’s on my list for Santa.

Okay, the first picture taken with the Photo Booth application should of course be as exciting as the new aluminum case of the “camera.” I call it: “Warholesque”

Okay, so the State of CT figured it could get some money in a few years back by claiming unclaimed funds. So it made itself a law that gave it the right to take people’s money if it was not claimed by x years. This includes stuff like refunds, inheritances, fund income, and even bank accounts that show no activity for (I think) 5 years. This rushed a lot of us off into checking on our older folks who wisely let the money get interest while it sat. Many found that the state had grabbed it–though it can be claimed and returned to its rightful owner.

Now get this: the State rolled the unclaimed monies into the General Fund. You can guess what’s coming…and of course, they spent it. Now they’re all upset because folks, in this tough economy, are looking all over for money and if they have unclaimed funds listed with the State, they’re requesting it be returned.

See now, this is why I don’t want the government handling healthcare. As a matter of fact, I think we should take back the motor vehicle department, the post office, maybe even the schools, and definitely, social security.

Technology certainly has changed social communication and interaction in the last twenty years more than it has in the last one hundred. With email, social networking sites, mobile phones, visuals and texting, people interact with strangers as well as family and friends on a regular basis, at all hours of the day.

Even as we communicate more openly and freely with others across the globe via gadgets, we also have to face the reality that some real people, well, aren’t.

We got used to the automatic voice messages a few years back. Particularly when trying to call for a service via the telephone. A voice recording gave us instructions as to which button to press next, and next, and next, and next, until we were routed to our proper responding department or learned the trick of punching the zero to get the only real person available–the operator.

The last couple years have added something new. The automated voice that calls us. Political campaigners aplenty, solicitors, even our own doctors’ offices to remind of an appointment. While this is a huge change in how society communicates there are even more subtle changes that aren’t considered.

Once upon a time, if you had a pleasant telephone voice, you were admired. Nowadays, it can become your downfall. I’ve gotten so tired of feeling the fool when answering the phone and responding to a recording that if there’s a pleasantly trained, perfectly grammatically correct and clear voice that starts a spiel right after my greeting, I hang up without further ado.

I just did that a couple minutes ago. Then a feeling came over me that wait, what if it was a real person? Some poor schlock getting paid minimum wage to make a thousand phone calls a day? Now yes, I eventually hang up on these wretched folk too, but not without at the least a polite “sorry, I’m not interested,” — which I just did a second ago, to “Andy” obviously from India. Andy at least got a human response from me because he wasn’t merely a recording. I sure hope the lady that called before him wasn’t a real person too.

Ya think?