College Football Etiquette (Book) - 8/6/2018 9:00:29 AM
I really love your writing, Jerri, so I believe this book is very well written. An excerpt would prove that to potential readers.
But football, especially pro football, is overrated and, if it becomes an addiction, is another one of those cults of society that humans are, unfortunately, attracted to. I quit playing football in my sophomore year in high school because I was small. I was fast and strong for my size, but being hit by guys twice my size as a running back and having my body go numb in the process, foretold my spinal cord injury in the future, and I wisely quit to do cross-country in the fall. Even in high school I didn't like the adulation given to big dumb guys that rose from the wrong side of all the tracks to stars and homecoming kings, merely because they could play football rough.
I have followed football over the years, and even rooted for the Packers and my three graduate schools, Wisconsin, Stanford, and West Virginia… Sometimes playing each other. But we have carried the gladiatorial games for the masses into the 21st-century with an unfair salary scheme that even applies to colleges where coaches are the highest paid members of college staff and players get all kinds of scholarships, tutoring and under the table perks. Most recently, sex scandals that have been kept out of prosecution by protective administrations. Evidence of lifelong impairment from concussions. Football reflects overall society and it's not good. When I see rabid fans spending tremendous amounts of money to fly across the country and back their teams, I think of all the good that could be done with that money.
Sorry, Jerri. I hope this doesn't affect your sales of the book. Any book about etiquette is very helpful. But it's my opinion of football fandom.
Ron
Pass the Torch: A Woman's March Through Time (Short Story) - 11/20/2019 3:20:00 PM
A beautiful story with beat and cadence extolling strong women throughout history who have made a profound difference in bettering the future.
Pass the Torch: A Woman's March Through Time (Short Story) - 11/20/2019 11:51:51 AM
Since Lucy, older female remains have been found in a cave in South Africa. Mothers were always the nurturers of babies, ensuring that the species, Homo sapiens, would continue. I have read that "Lucy in the sky with diamonds," was a not so hidden reference to LSD. ;-)
Understanding mathematics, philosophy and astronomy correctly is not the sole domain of men. While I had few students in those classes that were female, those females usually did far better than the men. Some were outstanding like Hypatia, exceeding my knowledge and ability as a teacher.
Your article/essay also covers so many women that have made significant contributions to society. I hope you also will include Harriet Tubman who is soon to be honored with the movie of her extraordinary life. And include former astronaut and medical doctor Mae Jemison, principal investigator for 100 Year Starship.
Outstanding!
Ron
Truth on the Hill (Short Story) - 11/12/2019 5:42:28 PM
interesting read!
never stop writing
m
Truth on the Hill (Short Story) - 11/6/2019 3:10:13 PM
The truth will speak for itself, no matter how it gets twisted. May truth prevail.
Truth on the Hill (Short Story) - 11/5/2019 9:19:39 AM
I'm not sure why, but the ending brought a tear to my eye--a tear of joy. That's what a good writer does. Elicits emotion in the reader. And what a wonderful way to describe truth in all of its nuances.
I hope that this story gets wide readership because it covers a number of issues, not the least of which is the gradual empowerment of women to reach equality in all aspects of life through political efforts now over a century since women received the long-delayed right to vote. Freedom and equality go hand in hand. Without equality, some are more free than others. For this country, that has been true for way too long. For those that decry the reforms coming rapidly in the 21st century because they have lost their autocratic power over others, they will have to taste sour grapes until they see the benefits that full equality will bring to everyone.
Ron
Recipe for Civilization (Short Story) - 6/9/2019 9:14:52 AM
I don't see it paralleling my story, but your story does stand alone very well. What it does remind me is of the Ancient Alien saga that was first written into books like Chariots of the Gods and has now become a regular fixture as part of the Ancient Aliens series with many ancient artifacts and sites being considered something either built or influenced by extraterrestrials long ago. Speculating that "they" were here and launched our civilization fits very nicely with the story.
I don't buy it very well, because I think that most of the story is simply the pseudoscience and conspiracy theories that seemed to abound in fiction. Part of it is that ancient artifacts cannot talk to us so we must interpret what they mean. Probably very badly at the moment.
My younger brother, in his exploration of Arizona, has come across many such artifacts and shared them with laboratories in local universities. It will be interesting learning what they find out in future.
Ron
Recipe for Civilization (Short Story) - 6/9/2019 3:10:30 AM
A fascinating story driven by details that make it work--right down to the apple martini.
Beauty: Seven Women Speak (Short Story) - 1/17/2019 2:41:33 PM
One of the most relevant stories I have read. Only a beautiful woman could have written this!
Beauty: Seven Women Speak (Short Story) - 1/16/2019 5:40:13 AM
Both "the wall" and "me too" are phrases that resonate in the current culture. Very nicely done.
Beauty: Seven Women Speak (Short Story) - 1/14/2019 11:47:42 AM
Well said! I agree wholeheartedly with Odin, Ron, and Eva:)
Perhaps the key to human beauty is to recognize our own value and accept that others may not be able to appreciate who we are or what we have to offer, but we care anyway. We love anyway. We see beauty anyway.
Blessings, Jerri.
Beauty: Seven Women Speak (Short Story) - 1/14/2019 11:26:04 AM
Calling upon the inordinate quality of beauty, you have infused in the reader appreciation for focusing on the often veiled qualities that make both women and men realize the truer meaning of beauty has far less to do the "look" than the "feel" for a principal of quality that is far too often relegated to shadows of ignorance. Beautifully penned. Kudos.
Beauty: Seven Women Speak (Short Story) - 1/14/2019 8:20:40 AM
A story for our times… Five stars from me, too.
Ron
Beauty: Seven Women Speak (Short Story) - 1/13/2019 2:31:52 PM
Each abstract facet of beauty is well-defined. Unsung heroes and heroines among the disenfranchised or unrecognized deserve passage beyond restrictive barriers that shouldn't be there in the first place.
A beautiful story!
Julianna's Walk---Chapter 1 (Short Story) - 1/9/2019 9:40:33 AM
I was unable to finish this morning, but it is obvious that you are writing about how, even with the Civil Rights Act being passed in 1965, the rural South maintained a kind of apartheid with the white population having privileges going back to plantation living and degradation of those people with African blood, even if, "it was only one drop."
Booker Edwards is a good example of how black people coped with a untenable situation. When I first arrived in the South to work at Atlanta University, I encountered that coping skill that was so well honed among the older generation. However, the younger generation, well educated, was moving away from that kind of behavior very quickly.
I can see that Julianna is caught up in the turmoil of the times and probably makes some difficult decisions on her, "Walk."
Ron
Huckleberry Finn in an Alternate Universe (Short Story) - 12/21/2018 9:18:31 AM
An article for our time. I was very pleased with the effort you put in to try to create the exact opposite alternate universe where black is white and white is black. South is North and North and South. It works to a point, but I believe that you were overly repetitive in the way that you presented it.
On the other hand, the editing of Chapter 16 of Huckleberry Finn reminded me of why I loved the book and the movie, so much. Written by someone who experienced that life, language and lifestyle, to write about it in a very authentic way. Tom Sawyer is so bland and uninteresting by comparison.
My concern is that even words like, "ain't," so commonly used by uneducated people that it has become listed in dictionaries, are now being removed as inappropriate by computer spellcheckers and word police.
My thoughts are that the King James version of the Bible that many believe is, "the truth," was a cleaned up version of the earlier Bible that was offensive to the king and English sensibility at that time. I have some sermons from the Archbishop of Canterbury dating back to 1777. Reading them is quite offensive to my ears with the words spouted by men of the clergy then. Would I change those old writings… No!
Ron
Singularity (Short Story) - 10/10/2018 4:04:48 AM
A beautiful story with words of wisdom sprinkled throughout the universe to carve a meaning out of life.
A Thoroughly Modern Woman (Short Story) - 10/8/2018 7:06:23 PM
enjoyed reading your well written article
Never Stop Writing
m
A Thoroughly Modern Woman (Short Story) - 10/8/2018 9:06:10 AM
You got me with this one. Great twist at the end. She certainly probably made the cut as a German mother receiving the Cross of Honour for having birthed at least four children for the Reich. She should probably not have used "comrade" for her husband's fellow soldiers. It is generally considered a communist term. Ughh!
There certainly is a parallel today when women faithfully follow their husband in a subservient way to match Donald Trump's choice of womanhood. Like the Daughters of the American Revolution, there is a certain element of conservative women that support conservative men, regardless of their abuse of women. It's expected and endured. That's a shame. Time for it to end.
Ron
A Thoroughly Modern Woman (Short Story) - 10/7/2018 4:54:50 PM
I LOVE what you are saying. The reflection is so strong.
Sandie
A Thoroughly Modern Woman (Short Story) - 10/7/2018 4:35:49 PM
That which we call a rose by any other name...
Your story is completely on the mark for these modern times.
Swimming Naked Under the Crescent Sun (Short Story) - 8/12/2018 9:01:30 AM
wonderful read and to shockingly close to home for many in our society
Never stop writing
m
The Moment (Short Story) - 8/12/2018 8:57:09 AM
you provide much grist for thought
Never stop writing
m
Why does the East have to be the East? (Short Story) - 6/19/2018 8:55:02 PM
The fact is the fact - The sun rises from the East and sets in the West, that all gunmen are crazy, and the guns are innocent. Anyone who tries to deny the fact has a political agenda that would benefit only themselves.
Sandie
Secrets Around the Corner (Article) - 8/21/2018 8:54:03 AM
That certainly was a heart-wrenching story. I can tell that it stretched your legal ability to its limit. That underbelly of society has always been with us. Thankfully, each year, more and more is revealed. Perhaps that's why people are so concerned about our life today. Secrets are no longer held tightly in communities, but escape easily because of the Internet.
I have a close friend who started out similar to TM, but fortunately, only had one child who has turned out to be a fine man with children. She has wanted me to help her write her story, but I'm afraid that some of the details would be as horrendous as what you found out, and that's why she's not coming forth with the story in a detailed way that we can write a book from. It is sad how she tries to be a good person but is still caught up in the culture she grew up in and tried to escape from.
I have always thought that life is stranger than fiction. It is stories like yours that prove it.
Ron
Secrets Around the Corner (Article) - 8/21/2018 2:31:03 AM
A heart wrenching story. While I feel very sorry for T.M. and all victims with so many cards stacked against him, she was an unfit mother because of it. I'm glad the system didn't sacrifice another by placing the child in her care.
A Context of Delusion (Article) - 7/15/2018 9:08:54 AM
We all seek validity of what we unconsciously believe. Your article focuses on how technology and Hitler's propaganda machine, used the power of movies and radio to create a Third Reich that was superior to everything else on the planet and believed by most of the German population. We all love to be flattered for our thoughts and can be trapped into one ideology or another by joining forces, and in this case re-tweeting or forwarding emails.
But, as you pointed out in your article, certain groups, like the Russians, have picked up on this powerful tool and have created stories filled with half-truths and outright lies. Many of these stories have become viral on the Internet supposedly written by individuals or authorities of one kind or another. The stories are carefully designed to reach our inner fears and capitalize on them.
Thank you for pointing out that we have to be ever vigilant if we are to avoid repeating what the Germans did.
Ron
Schadenfreude Reigns (Poetry) - 9/19/2021 9:40:46 AM
Stark, harsh, and real; a powerful message. Love, peace, and best wishes to you, Jerri,
Regis. 🌺🍁
Schadenfreude Reigns (Poetry) - 11/24/2019 3:02:34 PM
Loved the irregular line length which added punch to the punchy bits and slowed down the deeper, more thoughtful points.
Well written Jerri, and appropriate sentiments for the time we live in too.
Schadenfreude Reigns (Poetry) - 10/28/2019 5:03:40 AM
enjoyed the read!
well said, point made
Never Stop Writing
m
Schadenfreude Reigns (Poetry) - 10/26/2019 11:46:31 AM
Not being a particular fan of rhyme, this piece struck me as perfect, giving not even a hint that you had to consult a thesaurus or rhyme dictionary (which far to many rhyme poems seem to suffer from such effort). Well done.
Schadenfreude Reigns (Poetry) - 10/26/2019 11:03:44 AM
Thanking Ed and Jerry for helping my poor German. Statistically and not politically, what your poem states in terms of what is happening is true. And, in spite of what sharks and insiders claim, the opportunity to make a living with hard work and some skills is rapidly disappearing in favor of wealth and privilege gaining more wealth and privilege.
The strange part is people engaging in insider, greedy activity can't see where it is leading. Some kind of, "let them eat cake," syndrome.
Ron
Schadenfreude Reigns (Poetry) - 10/25/2019 11:00:04 PM
My guess about your title word was "shady friends." You exposed it well. I agree with every word in you lovely poem. Well done.
Schadenfreude Reigns (Poetry) - 10/25/2019 5:24:33 PM
I had to look up "schadenfreude," and for a word that is long and full of truthfulness, it actually hooked me, and I'll never forget the word. Uh, now spelling it is a different matter, don't ya know.
When Cowgirls Sang the Blues and Hippies Found Their Muse (Poetry) - 1/21/2019 11:00:37 AM
You have vividly recreated a slice of history very effectively through your words and verses, Jerri. Thank you for sharing. Love and peace and best wishes,
Regis.
When Cowgirls Sang the Blues and Hippies Found Their Muse (Poetry) - 8/4/2018 2:52:29 PM
Wow! What a tour de force! I can't believe no one else has commented yet. You have nailed the era almost perfectly and nearly redundantly with an emphasis on nonviolence and peace overcoming the bloodthirstiness of continual war.
It may be that people have drawn in from such exuberance in the 40 years since and don't know how to comment. Those that were not alive then may not even realize the impact that 1968 had on our lives. I was right in the middle of it, considered "square," and enjoying every flower that was handed to me.
You deserve more comments and I hope you get them. So many have short attention spans and can't seem to get through longer poetry… Shame. ;-)
Ron
