NEVER FORGET: 9/11

Before and After #MeToo

Rachel Mankowitz has a lot to say. This post is on point.

rachelmankowitz

I’ve been thinking about the #MeToo movement a lot, especially in the shadow of the resurgent Black Lives Matter movement, which has led to both protests and intensive discussions over the past months. The parallels in how discrimination functions are so clear, no matter which group is being put down. The literature on microaggressions and systemic racism gives language to what women face too, especially women who have been sexually abused by men and then have to function in a world that is inherently prejudiced against women’s voices. It is incomplete to talk about sexism in the workplace without acknowledging the deeper wounds many women carry with them into adulthood, because they were born female.

Ellie says, “Me too.”

Violence against women and children is part and parcel with a culture that keeps women from advancement in the workplace, and allows the workplace to be hostile to women in a…

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The Write Women Book Fest: September 21 – 26, 2020

LIVESTREAMS, RECORDED WORKSHOPS, READINGS, CRAFTS, MUSIC, AND MORE
THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 21 – 26

I’ll be doing a live reading and

Q & A.

September 23rd at 8:00 PM.

Join me on Facebook

If you haven’t had a chance yet, pick up a copy of Star Touched and Wolf Dawn.

Sometimes it’s hard to be who you are meant to be.

Eighteen-year-old Tatiana is running from her past and her star-touched powers eight years after a meteor devastates earth’s population.

Her power to heal may be overshadowed by more destructive abilities. Fleeing the persecution of those like her, Tatiana seeks refuge in a small town she once visited. But this civil haven, in a world where society has broken down, is beginning to crumble.

Only by harnessing the very forces that haunt her can Tatiana save her friends…and herself.

A Hidden Past – A Deadly Secret

Gifted with the ability to wolf-talk, Kara has lived with the wolves since she lost her memories eight years ago. Now at sixteen, snippets of her past send her searching for answers.

But the warm welcome she receives in the human village hides more danger than life with the pack.

A.L. Kaplan Wins Flash Fiction Challenge Popular Vote

A.L. Kaplan is the Readers’ Choice in this week’s Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Challenge. The winning entry is decided by the popular vote and rewarded with a special feature here today. To read the story, DIRECTIONS, visit Indies Unlimited.

Jackie Robinson Day

Check this article by Alan Zendell.

America the Beautiful

Alan Zendell, August 29, 2020

When disparate events converge toward a critical focal point my spiritual side takes over. I can’t resist the implications of an unlikely confluence of circumstances.

Every year since 2004, Major League Baseball has designated April 15 as Jackie Robinson Day. April 15th, aside from meaning Tax Day for most of us, was the opening day of the 1947 baseball season, when Robinson made his major league debut as the first black baseball player. But in 2020, COVID caused us to hit pause in our normal routines, and the baseball season didn’t begin until July 23rd. A lot of things fell by the wayside, but Jackie Robinson Day was re-scheduled for August 28th, the date in 1946 that Branch Rickey, the General Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, told Robinson he’d be in the Dodgers’ starting lineup the following season.

August 28, 2020 was also the day…

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My New Thing I Tried In August: Writing Schedule

What do you think of this idea. Would it work for you?

mythoughtsonwritingandreading

Since the start of the year I have committed myself to the goal of writing 500 words a day. Admittedly, this goal started falling apart around the same time our world did and I’ve been struggling to get back to it. So this month, instead of committing to 500 words a day, I decided to commit myself to simply writing everyday, with one day being devoted to typing up my novel (which is in a few less pieces as of this post).

So I broke out a blank sheet of paper, a pencil, a ruler, my mini highlighters, and a black marker and went about making my schedule. I am a visual person and I use colors as a way to see what my day will look like at a quick glance. So of course, this schedule was going to be color coded! As you can see, purple was for…

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YELLOWSTONE ERUPTION

Grady P Brown wrote this very timely post about Yellowstone’s super volcano. I say timely, because the Cataclysm in my novel Star Touched, has this volcano blowing it’s top. The date: August 12. Good thing there is magic a foot to thwart a total extinction. If you haven’t had a chance to read Star Touched yet, check it out.
https://smile.amazon.com/Star-Touched-L-Kaplan/dp/1940758629/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1587928896&sr=8-1

Grady P Brown - Author

For years, I have been fascinated by the potential super volcano that will eventually erupt from Yellowstone Park. Underneath the park is a vast magma chamber that serves as the source of the parks volcanic activity such as the geysers and hot springs. However, if the magma chamber ruptures, it would cause the greatest volcanic eruption in human history. For thousands of years, that magma chamber has been stockpiling on magma, gases, and pressure. With all that destructive power accumulating, the resulting eruption would be beyond imagining.

Since high school, I have watched documentaries that talked about the consequences that could emerge from Yellowstone’s eruption. Based on the data, an eruption from this single super volcano has the power to cause a mass extinction level event that would rival or even surpass the extinction of the dinosaurs. North America would be blown into splinters, the planet would undergo a volcanic…

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THE WAR ON MASKS

It’s time for Americans start acting like adults instead of spoiled children.

Be Safe. Be Smart. Be Kind.
End the hate.
VOTE in November.

Grady P Brown - Author

Because Trump has made wearing a mask a political and cultural issue instead of a health and safety issue, a lot of his supporters have been verbally attacking people for wearing masks. Due to this, a lot more people needlessly got sick and died while the coronavirus spread faster. This video is of a man in Arizona who verbally attacked people for wearing a mask and had to be carried out of the store like a petulant infant. I have had at least two encounters of such deranged characters. The first time was at the dog park, where I was confronted by a Trump supporter because I was wearing a mask that said “Vote”. A few days later, I was in line for Yogurtland and was yelled at by a maniacal woman for wearing protective medical gloves. These people have completely lost their minds because they believed the garbage Trump…

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Never take it personally

True words. Our differences make the world a better place.

Michael A. Ventrella

There are classic movies that critics love that don’t interest me in the slightest. Oh sure, I can acknowledge they’re well directed, well acted, well written — but the subject matter bores me.

And there’s some music I love that other people can’t stand. I can see their reviews and I wonder if they’re listening to the same thing I am.

My wife is an award-winning artist. Despite her master’s degree, the work she’s sold, and the accolades she’s received, some galleries won’t even consider having her there.

And it’s because we don’t all have the same tastes. Imagine how boring the world would be if that was the case.

So keep that in mind when some people just aren’t interested in your book. Of course you think it’s great — you write the kind of book you like to read, after all. But not everyone has your taste.

You…

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Trump’s Attack On Democracy

We need to protect our Democracy.

charles french words reading and writing

(Photo by Sharefaith on Pexels.com)

What happened the other night in Portland, Oregon should have all Americans who believe in the Constitution, Freedom, and Democracy outraged and frightened. Please do not divert the subject by speaking about “riots”. That is an issue that is addressed by local and state authorities, not the Federal Government.  The President does not seem to care about the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.

The Fourth Amendment says, “The right of the people to  be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Having Federal agents, wearing police insignia without identification of person or office arresting people without warrants and taking…

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