B.O.G.C.A.A.T.J.

The Pomegranate reading

So, I survived the live stream book reading for THE POMEGRANATE. The cocktail before I went didn't hurt. Actually, it was pretty much a success. There was a good house, we sold lots of books...even a few of Dream Dancer and Lingua Galactica..., and I didn't drop dead from nerves. You can watch it if you want for yourself. The festivities start at about minute 11. Come on; has a synagogue event ever started on time? No.

Understand, I have never watched the recording and have no intention of ever doing so. One look at the first still and I thought I looked like Jabba the Hut with grey hair. However, the crowd laughed at appropriate times, and that's all I really cared about.  Now that I've done this once, book clubs will be a breeze. The first one is always the toughest.

And now, the reviews are starting to filter in on Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble. All 5-stars at this time, and hoping that will continue. Reviews, folks, are extremely important. Good, bad, or indifferent, the numbers help move the book.

There were some additional surprises worth mentioning. Steve Bannon was taken in custody for Contempt of Congress. Now if people were regularly arrested for Contempt of Congress, a whole lotta citizens of this country would be in jail. Come on, do you know anyone who does not have contempt for congress? Oh, maybe contempt OF is different from contempt FOR. Whatever. Congress is as ridiculous now as it has ever been. Folks, the lunatics have taken over the asylum and no one is running this country.

I listened to a whole lotta Kyle Rittenhouse today. I heard him weeping about how he felt his life was in danger so he fired off his automatic weapon. I heard his defense team rail on about how people were randomly attacking this helpful, civic-minded child who just happened to be roaming the streets of Kenosha armed with an AR-15, specifically Smith & Wesson M&P15. If Kyle Rittenhouse was any other color besides white, he would've been dead in the street. I understand everyone is entitled to the best possible defense, but really people; does all of America look that naïve?

Apparently so.

And speaking of POC and the lack of understanding about the other in this country, if you want a real eye opener, spend some of your podcast time listening to THIS LAND. Start with Episode 1: Solomon's Sword. If you have a strong stomach and can keep from screaming, listen to all the episodes. Keep in mind, this is happening now. Not a hundred years ago. Now. I promise, you will hear stuff you never knew existed. 

Right now, President Biden is fighting an uphill battle with Congress and We, the People. Did you know 49% of Americans think he's doing a bad job managing the pandemic? Really? Is it because he's telling people to wear masks, socially distance, and be wary of crowds? Or because some people like to think their actions have no bearing on other air-breathers? As a nation of sloths, this should be no surprise. 

And those same mouth-breathing-don't-tread-on-me-you-can't-tell-me-what-to-do-with-my-body goodly folks are the same ones who demand control over other people's bodies. Somehow, those troglodytic cretins don't seem to see a correlation between refusing to get vaccinated and forcing women to carry all pregnancies to term. Both are okay IF you're a right-wing Republican. So if you were entertaining the misbegotten notion that "pro-life" (and I use the term loosely) advocates were standing on some sort of moral high ground, you wanna stand down from that putrid hill. This is about controlling other people, specifically women. I keep asking myself how they have come to hate women that much? They don't love women, if they did, there would be stronger anti-rape legislation. There would be gun control. There would be a real effort to preserve life, not destroy it. But what they are really about is destruction according to their whims. They are nothing more than totalitarians-in-waiting. And if that doesn't scare you, well.... maybe it should.

What really makes me sad this week, however, is that it's my dad's 6th yahrzeit. He died on Thanksgiving night, 2015, but the Hebrew date is the one that marks the observance. So this year, it starts on Wednesday night and runs through Thursday day. I truly wish he could've been here to see the novels get published. He was around for Little Miss, but missed Young Sir by several years. There isn't a comma that goes by without my thinking of him. And this year, it's even more bittersweet than usual: the front row at Beth David is now complete. When I say kaddish for him on Thursday at minyan, I will really be saying kaddish for them all.

The Wifely Person's Dad's Tip of the Week

B.O.G.C.A.A.T.J.

Be of good cheer and all that jazz!