Friday Thoughts: Propaganda

August 11, 2023August 11, 2023

Friday Thoughts: Propaganda

Before we get to the propaganda bits, let me just say: it’s been a good week, Tater! I’m writing… lots. This outlining process I’ve borrowed is working very well for me and I’m feeling good about finishing theAcademic Magic series. I’ve got Books 4, 5, and 6 planned out and am moving at good speed through Book #4 – it’s above 10k words right now. And, once I finish this post and get moving on it today, I’m hoping to get beyond 20k.

August 7, 2023August 7, 2023

Twilight Discovery

Sneaking wasn’t my favorite activity. Too much to go wrong. Especially at this time of day. Most people think that sneaking around after dark is very dangerous. All sorts of nasty creatures, both human and non-human, were out and about. But what most people didn’t know was that after dark wasn’t the dangerous time. No, twilight was always the problem.

August 4, 2023August 4, 2023

Friday Thoughts: New Adventures

We bought a house! First time for everything, and yes, we are late bloomers. For the longest time, two PhD diplomas were the stand-ins for a house. But now we bought a house! I’m super excited to get into it and start making it a home. I feel like we’re putting down roots and becoming real Texans. Until we finalized everything, I hadn’t realized how transient I felt, even though we lived in the same place for almost twenty years in Philadelphia (and I mean the same apartment, not just the same city). The house is very nice and the former owners made a number of small, but thoughtful additions and changes – there are misters in the pergola for example. Hell, there’s a pergola!

August 1, 2023August 1, 2023

“Banning” Books… Again

Twice in 2022 I wrote about banning books (here and here), but the recent hysteria over books that are being pushed by the LGBTQ community, and others, along with an FB post by a friend of mine brought the matter back to mind. As with so many issues these days, the left has taken a word and twisted it until they find a definition and use that suits their needs. Just as the government and its cronies created Newspeak in Orwell’s 1984, so the progressive left is creating their own version of newspeak. My friend walked into a Barnes and Noble to be faced with the display shown below. Now, yes, the signs under the books say “Challenged” which is indeed accurate. But notice the display sign – that says “Banned Books.” Whether this is a marketing ploy (likely), or not, someone at B&N is engaged in some serious misdirection and propagandizing.

July 31, 2023July 31, 2023

Season of the Dig

“It’s not that difficult,” Serena said, grinning at Jake as he glared through the viewing window at the rain falling on the spaceport. “It’s always opposite day on this planet… winter is the dry season and summer is the wet season.”

July 28, 2023July 28, 2023

Friday Thoughts: A Varied Week

Things here at Chez Ornery went fairly smoothly this week. More good news, but again, full details will come next week, I promise. In the outside world, the political class who think they’re running the world are still engaging in stupid actions while at the same time (and this gives me hope) making it very clear to anyone who can stand up, see lightning, and hear thunder, that they’re corrupt, evil, and stupid. But that doesn’t mean we can ignore them and their continuing antics. Please maintain your attention, and call them out whenever you get the opportunity. More importantly, remember to call them out publicly. You need to call them out. In public. Often.

July 25, 2023July 25, 2023

I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar

Women are being erased, deliberately, from the main stage of culture and society. Again. Just the other day, after facing strong backlash, Johns Hopkins University removed their online glossary of LGBTQ terms in which they defined “lesbian” as a “non-man attracted to non-men.” See what they did there? Johns Hopkins defined “lesbian”, a woman sexually attracted to other women, around men rather than around women. They erased women from the definition of lesbian. Everything which involves women is once again revolving around men. Even more telling is that a small segment of women are upset that JHU deleted its definitions. I have to assume that the world in which these individuals live has a purple sky with pink polka dots. Because it definitely isn’t the world the rest of us inhabit.

July 24, 2023July 24, 2023

Sunsets and Old Gods

Jake leaned back against one of the column bases that made up the perimeter of the temple grounds. Serena sat in front of him, between his legs and settled against his chest. She sighed. It had been a long day and she was exhausted. She was very grateful that Loren, the toymaker and their friend, had offered to keep Melia overnight. “You have earned a night off,” he’d said, smiling. “Besides, I have new toys that need to be tested before I put them up for sale in the market.”

July 21, 2023July 21, 2023

Friday Thoughts: A Random Collection

I’m starting this post not quite knowing where it’s going. I have a number of random thoughts roaming through my brain right now. I’m on my third cup of coffee, this one iced, and normally, that would help with the brain organization. But for whatever reason, it’s not. What is helping is that I made a sort of generic calendar/to-do list for each day of the week (Mondays is for prompt responses, Tuesdays for blog post, like that). Today’s generic to-do list said “Blog post, Friday Thoughts.” So, here you have it. My thoughts on this Friday, July 21, 2023.

July 18, 2023July 18, 2023

Stop Sitting Down

We were out driving the other day when “Stand” by Sly and the Family Stone came on the radio (okay, on the Sirius channel we were listening to). As I bounced in my seat and sang along, the lyrics suddenly struck me. I mean, I know the lyrics, but their application to today’s cultural and political madness struck me. After we got home, I looked up the song. It was written in 1969 by Sly Stone, was the title track on the album “Stand”, and performed at Woodstock.

Professor Ornery Dragon

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