Blood and gold

My favorite Luddite had surgery yesterday and came through it with flying colors, a bit of vomiting, lots of blood and two splints up his nose. He said he wasn't in much pain but he was still full of anesthesia and drugs so he didn't really know what he was saying. He knows this morning though and I'm sure he'll reach for his Vicodin before the day is out. I'm glad he got through the surgery all right and that the surgeon didn't find more than he expected, but I knew he would. He wouldn't dare tank on me now.

At any rate, today is a new day and the kids are back at school across the street. They didn't come back from winter break until yesterday and I missed it because I was still down for the count after having not slept the night before. This morning I was up and at it early and smiling as I listened to the clamor of kids grumbling and jostling while responding to the bells that tell them it's time to get back to the business of learning. There are no bells to tell me it's time to get back to the business of earning a living, but I don't need reminding that the utilities, phone and rent need to be paid.

I slept pretty well last night, but something called me from my dreams to instant waking. A yellow sodium vapor light a block away shines into the bedroom window and I've learned to sleep with it winking and glaring at me in the darkness of night, but last night a new light shone through the window, one I am not used to ignoring. The full silver face of the moon blazed in through the slatted blinds and shone on my face. That was what woke me. It was a perfect moon hanging directly above the street light, a silver twin to the gold, and it felt magical. It took a while to go back to sleep, but when I did happy dreams welcomed me. When I woke again at eight, the moon was down and the streetlight dimmer while the buildings and sky were touched with bloody gold, and I felt rested and ready for another day.

Hand out if you want bailed out

Now that the government has opened its coffers so the rich and powerful can dig deep and spend, spend, spend, they have given the rest of the country's industries the idea that Uncle Sam is easy.

Tattle: Larry Flynt & Joe Francis want U.S. bailout in these 'hard times'

By Howard Gensler
Philadelphia Daily News

Daily News Tattle Columnist
IF BANKS CAN get a bailout and mortgage companies can get a bailout and auto manufacturers can get a bailout, why not companies that provide adult entertainment?

That's what Joe Francis ("Girls Gone Wild") and Larry Flynt ("Hustler") want to know.

With stones as big as the fake boobs in attendance at the Adult Video News Adult Expo, in Las Vegas, this week, Francis and Flynt are petitioning the new Congress to provide a financial bailout for the adult-entertainment industry.

They're seeking $5 billion in federal assistance, "just to see us through hard times," Francis said.

Hard times, get it?

"Congress seems willing to help shore up our nation's most important businesses, we feel we deserve the same consideration. In difficult economic times, Americans turn to entertainment for relief. More and more, the kind of entertainment they turn to is adult entertainment."

Flynt said that the recession has acted like a national cold shower. "People are too depressed to be sexually active," he said. "This is very unhealthy as a nation. Americans can do without cars and such but they cannot do without sex.

"It's time for Congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America," he added. "The only way they can do this is by supporting the adult industry and doing it quickly."

"The popularity of adult entertainment in America has grown steadily for the past half century," Francis said. "Its emergence into the mainstream of popular culture suggests that the U.S. government should actively support the adult industry's survival and growth, just as it feels the need to support any other industry cherished by the American people."

See for yourself.

That is all. Disperse.

Well, did you ever?

It had to happen sooner or later since Chuck Pahlahniuk had one of his characters stealing liposuctioned fat to make soap to sell.

What a swell party this doc and his girlfriend are having now that they've decided to join the conga line in Rio.

That is all. Disperse.

Another voice

It is always gratifying to know one's work is appreciated and this afternoon I received word that an author whose work I reviewed had contacted Authorlink to let me know what he thought of my review.

Jon Land writes thrillers -- marvelous thrillers -- and I have had the opportunity to read and review two of his books. The latest, Strong Enough to Die will be available March 2009 and I reviewed it last month. Here's what Mr. Land had to say about the review:

I was flabbergasted, in a wonderful way, by J. M. Cornwall's [sic] review of STRONG ENOUGH TO DIE. Once again she honed in on all the things I was trying to do and based her review on how well I accomplished them. I couldn't be more inspired by her words, including her one negative comment which I whole-heartedly agree with and even then wouldn't know how to change it. Since these are the first critical comments/review I've gotten on the book, I take them especially to heart.

Could you please forward me J. M.'s e-mail address, or forward mine to her, so I can share my thoughts with her personally? She's a shrewd and sensitive reviewer, as well as a very good writer.

Too often authors, especially those who have received less than glowing reviews, blame the reviewer instead of taking a good look at what the reviewer found questionable or didn't like about the book. Some authors even accuse the reviewer of prejudice or personal disagreements, and on occasion that may be true. However, there are many good reviewers who, in spite of their personal feelings for or against a particular author, write honest critiques of the books they review.

In the end, a reviewer is a writer, a literary journalist, who gives their considered opinion based on their own background and skills, but reviewers are still people and their opinion, however learned and honest, is still just one opinion. I tell authors and readers to use the review as a guideline in forming their own opinions not as the last and only word. It's up to the reader to judge for himself what he does and does not like, but it is also good to get another reader's opinion to compare and contrast.

This is the second time I've reviewed one of Land's books and I look forward to reading and reviewing more of his work. I enjoy the places he takes me with his stories and getting to know those people Land chronicles so convincingly. Best of all, is knowing that Jon Land is one author who takes the time to thank me for my critique of his books -- even when I find something negative. That is the mark of a true professional with class and style.

Thank you, Jon Land.

The time of the ostrich is past

It's time to pull our heads out of the sand and take a hard look at what is really happening in Israel. Would any country endure without retaliation what Israel has endured?

The moral inversion in the west is so egregious, so monstrous, that the better Israel is shown to behave the worse the vilification that rains down upon it. What other country in the world would show such restraint in the face of more than 6000 rocket attacks upon its citizens – 6000! – that it took seven years before going to war to put a stop to it?".

That is all. Disperse.

It's back

It's January so it's time for the annual Preditors & Editors vote for your favorites.

Most people send out the word to promote themselves, hoping everyone on their friends list will vote for them, but the P&E poll is about the best writing and not just a chance to stuff the ballot box -- or at least it shouldn't be. It will take some time to go through the whole list -- if you choose to check out all the categories -- but take the time to read the entries and don't just vote for someone because you know them. Friendship and loyalty are admirable, but should not be a factor when it comes to excellence in writing. You have until January 14th.

Ready.

Set.

VOTE!

Don't forget to scroll all the way down.