Pictures of Characters

Ok, so I have a new story up on fictionpress.

www.fictionpress.com/~bigphish

it's a romance and it has some great twists so i don't think its too cliche in the end. at any rate, i want to put in a few pictures here of some of the characters.




This is Missy Gibson. She's a professional surfer turned model and when I first started looking for someone to give a picture of Christi, I never expected to chose a model. I searched for athletes instead. But when I saw a picture of Missy, something about her just drew me and I instantly was like "that's her." (I do not own this picture)





This is Vince Rimoldi. I love him very, very much. He's the an actor/singer and I first learned about him when I saw the movie "Camp", directed by Todd Graff. When I first started to create Vince Alstruther's character (the names are actually completely coincidental, I swear), I watched the movie again and I was struck by how perfect VinceR was for this. (I do not own this image)

Those are the only two I have for now. I've got a few possibilities for both Chase and Will but I expect that Dan will be the next one up here.

CNN, FOX, and other news networks

I've decided to give up on TV news reports (except for Chris Matthews). Obviously I can't listen to FOX (unless I want to laugh my ass off or swear every five minutes at my TV) and though I love CNN, I don't think they cover enough in their broadcast.

Where does this leave me?

With the New York Times and other papers.

So when I googled "Latest events of Saturday, June 7, 2008," I came up with this fascinating article by Star Parker...

STAR PARKER: Obama's Life Story Is a Republican One

What's this?
The words we're hearing most during this presidential campaign are "historic" and "change." But what I see is "paradox."

Take our new Democratic Party nominee, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.

This is a man, to be sure, of extraordinary talent and ambition. But what a gap between the reality he manifests and the reality he talks about.

No one could have predicted, even a year and half ago, that today Obama would stand as leader of his party, running for president of the United States. It's the possibility of this type of surprise — allowing for the inconceivable and the unpredictable — that makes freedom so powerful and speaks to the sham and pretense of government and political planning.

Who can question that the success and prosperity of this country — with its vast cast of individuals who have changed the world through creativity and innovation, with our long list of Nobel Prize winners — is due to freedom?

And yet, Obama's prescription for the many challenges we face today, whether it is health care, education, or global competition, is increased government planning and control. Here is a man who now stands where no "expert" could have predicted, yet wants to tether our nation's future to the mind games of the same kinds of "experts", rather than letting what truly drives America's unique success — free individuals and free markets — work. A paradox.

Also paradoxical is the liberal message we hear from this man whose own life is the picture of conservatism. Who is greater proof of the conservative message that anyone in today's United States, willing to pay the price in grit, hard work, and determination, can achieve any success that his or her talent justifies, than Obama?

He loves and is devoted to his wife and daughters, who he sends to private school. The family portrait is traditional in every sense. If we measured Obama by the test of "do as I do and not as I say" this first black presidential nominee would be a Republican and not a Democrat.

And what about New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton?

We're hearing testimonials to what her run for president has done for American women. I am an American woman and I'm hard pressed to see a thing that Clinton's campaign has contributed to my life or the realities and challenges that I face.

It's a certain kind of narcissism that drives liberal feminists to think they are representing the interests of "women."

A number of years ago I was invited by Newsweek to attend a luncheon of prominent women in New York. I think I was the only conservative in the place.

At my lunch table, I listened to successful women talk about their pride in keeping their maiden name in their marriage. Amidst the banter, I thought about what the destruction of family has done to inner city black communities and about young black single mothers who only wish there was a responsible man in their life, a husband, whose name they would gladly carry.

How is it that Clinton, whose accomplishments directly derive from those of her husband and her willingness to stay years in a flagrantly abusive marriage, is feminism's poster woman? How does Clinton, who sat by untroubled as millions of unborn children were destroyed while she was first lady of Arkansas, and then of the United States, represent women's potential? Or who thinks that the young women damaged by the barbarism of abortion do it as free agents exercising rights, rather than out of confusion and ignorance.

On the other side, we have the paradoxical Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

McCain somehow thinks that this campaign will be about contrasting visions without seeming to appreciate that being a maverick is not a vision. He's going to have difficulty winning this election by simply branding Obama a liberal when his own conservatism is so amorphous.

No wonder Americans are feeling confused these days. We're not hearing much that makes a lot of sense.

In a year when it looks like rhetoric and style will trump substance, McCain has got his work cut out. He might consider a weekend off with a Bible, a copy of the Constitution, and some old Ronald Reagan speeches.

Everything in that post belongs to Star Parker and KitSap Sun; this represents her views and her views alone. I do not claim authorship or ownership of this work

Um...does this make sense to anyone?

First, I'd like to address the fact that she believes that the Republican message of "grit, determination, and hard work" is ONLY the Republican message. I think it's been acknowledged by both parties that this isn't only the REPUBLICAN MESSAGE, but in fact a central AMERICAN belief. It's one of the principles that our country is founded on. Also, if this is true, that his life story is a Republican one, then why is he a Democrat? And why aren't more Republicans voting for him? A little contradictory if you ask me...

If it were honestly true that Obama wanted to tether America to expert minds rather than free markets and free people, we'd be living under a Communist regime starting in January, 2009, and the book 1980 by George Orwell would become a reality. Obama got where he is today from the principles that our Fathers set forth- liberty, democracy, justice, the pursuit of happyness [sic] and others. Why would he want to "tether" our country? And to whom would it be tethered? Regardless of which candidate wins office, our country will be headed in a new direction, lead there by a President, his cabinet, and Congress- all of whom are the "expert minds" to whom I believe Ms. Parker is referring. I guess it depends on who the expert is to her.

"He loves his wife...sends his daughters to private school...The family portrait is traditional in every sense" I was actually extremely offended by this statement. Does Ms. Parker believe that Democratic men do not love their wives and do not send their daughters to private school? I am (proudly) the daughter of two Democrats, and I'm proud to say that the love is strong and I attend private school. However, I am certain that there are many families- both Republican and Democratic- who are not fortunate enough to be in the same situation. Being a member of a certain party does not ensure amicable or loving matrimony, just as it does not ensure a private school education.

As for Ms. Parkers' attacks on Sen. Clinton...first may I point out that the decision of whether or not to take on a husbands name is an extremely personal one and does not necessarily mean that the woman is a feminist or not. For some women, it is a good career move, for others, they may like their last names. Or perhaps the combination of two names simply sounds so horrendous that they couldn't dream of taking on a different name.

I am not disagreeing with her statement regarding women who would be more than happy to take on a husbands name, especially in a lower class society where they have kids and need that support. I am also sure that there would be many women who would love that security. What I do have a problem with is the automatic assumption of "African-American women" when there are many Caucasian women, Hispanic women, and numerous other women from numerous other ethnicities in our country who are in the same situation. The destruction of family is a problem for every different ethnicity, not just African-Americans, and the Democratic party and feminism cannot be held accountable for this. Men are also responsible for the destruction of families; I have seen men leaving situations where there presence would be welcomed multiple times, leaving women to fend for themselves.

Hillary is feminism poster woman because of her strength. I'm not entirely sure where Ms. Parker got the abusive portion of her statement since I don't recall ever hearing about potential abuse between Hillary and Bill- adultery, for sure, but not abuse. Hillary was an accomplished woman before she married Bill. It is no small feat to have graduated from Wellesley College with a degree in Political Science, and a 92 page senior thesis that is kept under lock and key at that very same school. One of the key parts of feminism is the ability for women to make their own choices- Hillary has upheld that right in regard to abortion because she believes that it is the woman's choice, and I agree. It is a personal decision for a woman to make and a very difficult one. I don't believe Ms. Parker understands the difficult choice that these women face; it is not easy to get an abortion. It's a very difficult and life-altering decision and experience. No one takes them lightly. I'd also like to remind Ms. Parker that Hillary's slogan on abortion is "Safe, Legal, and Rare."

It was comforting to me, surprisingly, to read that a conservative believes that McCain's conservatism is "amorphous" and that she is not entirely sold to him. However, her following comment that he should take "a weekend off with a Bible, a copy of the Constitution, and some old Ronald Reagan speeches" frightened me. Does Ms. Parker not realize exactly what Reganomics has done to our country?

Finally, in regard to the idea that "rhetoric and style" will win this election, I'd like to point out that it isn't a crime to have a style and ideas. Barack Obama will lead this country into a better future. I believe that America will speak in November, 2008, for a better and more trustworthy- as well as non-paradoxical presidency.

YDA

OK, so over the weekend I went to the Young Democrats of America Conference in Nashville, Tennesse.
And let me tell you, it was sick. It was probably one of the coolest things that I've ever been to since...ever.

Then I get home and find out that Barack has won the nomination (Congrats to him, I have nothing against him but I think Hil does have the better universal health plan) which means the YDAs work really has begun. Convincing young voters to vote for Barack should be easier than harder but it's so late in the game, McCain has had months- literally, MONTHS- to prepare his campaign and all we've been doing is tearing up our party.

Come on, Dems. I mean, really. At this rate, we're no better than the Republicans.

We need to get our act together. As Governor Phil Bredesen said on Saturday, we need to stop acting like spoiled children when it comes to this election and choosing a candidate. The party HAS to unite behind Barack if we want to win this election, otherwise we'll just be handing McCain and the Republicans a victory.

To be brutally honest, I actually think McCain's a good guy. I think he's running one crazy-ass campaign for presidency though. I mean, he's got people in that campaign who Dick Cheney- Dick fucking CHENEY- thinks are insane. CONSERVATIVELY insane. Does this ring a problem bell in anyone's head? And never mind everything that KARL ROVE did, he's still out there advocating for McCain! That can't be good for his campaign, it'd be like another Bill Clinton for Hillary. But if our party is split in half, then it'll work 10x better than any other strategy.

A lot of being in office is the work of the people who the President surrounds himself with. McCains making preliminary choices that are much worse than Bush did, which only leads me to believe that an apocalypse or something will occur if McCain is elected President of the United States. The whole world is following this election, and this election extends far beyond any one person. This election will determine the future of our country for ages to come; it affects our children, their children, and their children after that. This election determines the way we interact with other nations and the way other nations will interact with us.

The time for change is now. So, Dems, get your act together and back the candidate who should be the next president of the United States: Barack Obama.


NASHVILLE BY THE NUMBERS:

532,175 - # of Democratic vote pledges (tentative) YDA state chapters and caucuses committed to collecting in 2008.
972 - # of Democratic vote pledges collected online during the conference.
328- # of Democratic vote pledges collected in person during the YVR Scavenger Hunt.
285 - # of conference attendees.
229 - # of days until President Bush is out of office.
152 - # of days until 2008 Election Day.
28 - # of states committing to vote pledges during the Vote Pledge Summit.
9 - # of peer-to-peer training sessions held concurrently at Peer-to-Palooza.
6 - # of Democratic vote pledges collected on cocktail napkins.
4 - # of consecutive days I ate at Jack's BBQ.
2 - # of pink tiara/cowboy hats worn by officers during the National Committee Meeting
1 - # of vote pledges collected on our plane to DC by a YD.


let's win this thing.

GAH spectaculore is going to kill me for not having updated since september.
heehee >_<
BUT i've started writing again which means I should have new material to put up on here sometime soon (get pumped) The writing will be in the form of short stories and poems, while the book i'm working on will go on fictionpress.com (penname TBA). And if sepcatculoure also agrees to be my beta reader (please!!) then this might actually get somewhere.

short and sweet little note here. i'm sitting at home not going to my senior project today because my weekend was crazy and my flight got in late last night.

the world is here, I
fly through the stars and cry aloud:
time to graduate.

can't wait to get out of here. xoxo

Parental Units

“What do your parents do?”
It’s a typical question that every child gets. And most of the time, you’ll get typical answers: teacher, scientist, professor-something-or-other. Maybe sometimes you’ll get something more unusual, like an FBI Agent. But I can guarantee that you’ll rarely find a child who will answer, as I did with a huge smile on my face and without a clue what the words I was saying meant, “My mommy and my stepdaddy are psychiatrists!”
As time passed I grew to understand exactly what a psychiatrist was, and as time passed, I tried to avoid mentioning what my parents did. It seemed to oddly fascinate people, from my friends who thought it was bizarre, to my teachers, who wanted my parents to come in and lecture about their oh-so-interesting profession. I tried to avoid psychiatry; I wanted nothing to do with it. I didn’t want to be “the shrink’s kid”. I wanted parents with normal jobs and normal lives. I could never see what was so fascinating about sitting down with a person and listening to a rant about problems with life and what makes her sad and what makes him happy, etc, all the while taking notes. I couldn’t see what was so fascinating about mental illness or what was so wonderful about sitting in a room one on one with a mentally ill person. Call me prejudiced, but listening to people talk like that just wasn’t my thing.
As more time passed and I became a teenager, I became a little more opinionated, a little more argumentative, and a little louder, perhaps, on the subject of psychiatry and therapy. Strangely enough, I wasn’t arguing against psychiatry; I was arguing in favor of it. How bizarre was that? I had been so against it, against everything about it from insisting that I would never be a psychiatrist to avoiding mentioning my parents’ professions in conversation yet suddenly I was defending the virtues of psychiatry. What changed? I’m not entirely sure. Perhaps it was part of a transition into myself as a person, accepting what my parents did for a living. However, I think it’s much more likely that I just became aware that what my parents did was necessary for, one with major misconceptions about mental illness and treatment. I wanted everyone, my friends, my teachers, and even my grandparents to understand how important my parents’ work was. While I’d rather eat glass than admit to my parents that they were right all along about their work, secretly, I acknowledge that they were. I admire them for the long hours, the phone calls in the middle of the night from distressed patients, the multiple court appearances as experts. I’m slightly less appreciative of their inability to leave their job at work; as I tell my friends, being a psychiatrist requires a certain state of mind and training to hone that state of mind, and after a time, it’s impossible to leave the job at work. I’m less appreciative of what comes from that: the long “analytical” conversations, where they ask me everything from what I ate that day to what I think about the president. And I’m certainly less appreciative when I can hear them analyzing my responses from my room as they finish dinner.
Although I’m not too fond of those things, my parents are certainly far more involved in my life than those of many of my friends’. As time has passed I’ve realized that I don’t want any of their disconnected parents; I only want mine. Don’t get me wrong, I still think that anyone who wants to be a psychiatrist is crazy. But at the same time, I think it’s that certain kind of insanity that’s made my parents into such wonderful parents, parents who have taught me to listen to people and give advice. My parents have taught me that service comes in many different ways. They gave their lives to their profession and their daughter, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

All the randomness that's usually associated with me

Hey! This is the introduction to my blog which shall (hopefully) be updated weekly. My name is Laura, I'm a senior in high school (horray) and so excited to be graduating at the end of the year. No real sentimentality right now, but I'm sure that I'll cry when I walk down the aisle with my dear friend Catie in hand.
I've been through a lot of crap in my 17 years, so I'll be posting on and off about that. I know what it's like to be pushed down, to be stereotyped, and to live in fear. I know what it's like to be rejected. Eventually I'll probably post the reasons why but for right now thats enough.
I live in a city, and I've traveled all over the world. I love different cultures and different views of things. I know a lot of people who think differently than I do, and I totally respect them for that.
I'm only close to a few people. I have major trust issues, but I have a way of talking and acting so that people think they are really close to me when in fact...they aren't. i'm an actress, in and out of school. I love music too, but actings my huge passion. I'm a member of the theater group and the a cappella group at school. It's a lot of fun, and I'm really excited to contnue into my senior year.
I hope this'll be fun...I don't know it's kind of a new experience (wooooo) so I guess we'll see.
Laura, Out.