Dangerous Books For Girls

Here's a YouTube video that peels away some of the lame reasons why romance novels are ridiculed. It was posted by Maya Rodale
www.mayarodale.com
www.dangerousbooksforgirls.com
whom I do not know, but I really enjoyed the video she created. So I decided to share it here.



Enjoy!

Down But Not Out

Sorry for the radio silence, Citizens. Seems I've been gone long enough for Blogger to change everything, so let's see how well this post goes.

I worked all weekend scoring assessments for the most disabled students in the state. I was there five hours on Friday night, eleven and a half hours on Saturday and seven hours on Sunday. You're basically sequestered in a cubicle farm with 250 teachers, hunched over a computer screen. I have a little bit of a feel for what a call center in New Delhi is like.

 I didn't have too many gut wrenching videos to score this time, but my WTF-o-meter is still blaring loud and clear. And I know deep down in my heart that there is a special place in Hell reserved for bureaucrats and bean counters.

But I survived, and I'm a believer in the old adage, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." Let's hope the next two scoring weekends don't finish me off.

I, of course, picked up a bug of some sort. I mean, it was inevitable. Lock over 200 teachers from all over the state with their very own pool of germs school and confine us together in a windowless, poorly ventilated room for a weekend, and yeah, it's gonna happen.

So that is the main reason for the radio silence here at TiC. Exhaustion and germ warfare.

 So how was your weekend?

When The Right Words Are Still Wrong

I've been editing my manuscript for a while now, and I can't seem to get it quite right. The story is there. The words are on the page, but those words just aren't quite the right ones. Yes, they tell the story. Yes, they're grammatically correct. But they could be so much better.

Have you ever had this problem? The sentences are adequate. But just not as good as you know it could be. And now I'm getting stuck on improving them.

I know I should work on something different. Take a break and come back, yet now it's an obsession. I. Must. Fix. It.

We had a speaker last year at our writer's group who said something very obvious, yet extremely eye-opening for me. He claimed that writer's block was a fallacy (my word, not quite his). Writing is a career, a profession. Just like teaching or human resources or what have you. You never hear of a plumber not showing up for work because he has plumber's block. So why do many writers take that line of thinking?

I've been working on the manuscript Monday through Friday whenever I can manage to cram in some time. If I want to make this work as a job, I need to put in the hours, not the excuses. So here I sit, during my stolen minutes of the day, typing away, furiously trying to make it shine.

And it's not quite there.

Your Group Polka Intervention

Yes, it's here. I'm very concerned about the polka levels that were unfortunately inflicted here at Tongue In Cheek during the hostile takeover. I feel responsible to any who may have come under the influence of the polka and need to get clean.

But what is the antithesis of polka? Well, citizens, the answer to that is very personal to each individual. Though after years of heading research into this conundrum, I feel qualified to offer a solution.

When I had to stage the polka intervention for my parents last year, I administered liberal amounts of Burt Bacharach and other easy listening paragons. As was the recommended daily allowance in their age bracket for neutralizing the demon rhythms the polka brings out in us all.

So In an attempt to be all-encompassing in my intervention strategies, I will break down and personalize each reader's polka intervention by age group. Please choose your individualized intervention wisely and honestly. And remember, it's up to you to work your program.

0-12 years of age



13-18 years of age



19-30 years old


31-45


46-60


61-1,000


So work your programs, Citizens. And remember- Only you can prevent polka infestations.

The After Party Squatters

As you can imagine, the celebration of rousting those polka playing demons was epic. I mean, the severity of alcohol that moonshiners and yard gnomes drink on a normal day is outrageous. But when they have a real reason to let loose? Well, you know they got out of hand.

It started somewhat innocently enough. A lot of rabble rousing, some good-natured ribbing.



But before you know it, each of them were quick to show their fighting side. The rednecks introduced the gnomes to some of their yard games.




When one of the hillbillies decided to replace one of the fashion heads with a gnome, all hell broke loose and I had a full blown smack down, drag out brawl on my hands.

It lasted all week. I finally got most of them to move on, though there are still a few holdouts that are now officially squatters on my property. But it's the price you pay for a polka free home.

Speaking of a polka free home, I'm worried about the influence on my readers that all the hijacked polka blog entries may have possibly had on you guys. So I will be doing a mass polka intervention via the blog soon.

Until then, Citizens. Beware the squatting gnomes.