Almanac for July 30th

Erin O'Riordan's Almanac for July 30th: https://ko-fi.com/post/July-30th-T6T3106UJ3

Bummer July 30th

July 30, 1866: A racist mob of white people in New Orleans kills 38 African-American politicians and their supporters and wounds an additional 46 people. The New Orleans police department joins the violence on the side of the racists. Almost all of those killed or injured were African-American.

July 30, 1918: American author Joyce Kilmer is killed in action, shot by a sniper at the Second Battle of the Marne in the First World War.

July 30, 1945: The heavy cruiser U.S.S. Indianapolis is torpedoed by the Japanese Navy after departing from the Philippines. Of the 1,195 sailors on board, about 300 go down with the ship when it sinks 12 minutes after the torpedo hits. Of the 890 who manage to abandon ship, only 316 survive. The others fall prey to shark attacks, salt water poisoning, dehydration, and exposure.

July 30, 1997: A landslide in Thredbo Alpine Village, New South Wales, Australia destroys two ski lodges and kills 18 people. The sole survivor of the landslide is Stuart Diver, who is freed from the wreckage on August 2nd. Diver had been trapped inside the collapsed building in which his wife, Sally, had drowned after becoming trapped in an area that had slowly filled with water.

'The Loss,' A Book Based on a Series Based on a Series Based on a Book

The Originals: The Loss by Julie Plec

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Loss is an appropriate title for this book, which centers on Klaus Mikaelson's oh-so-very ill-fated marriage.

I didn't read the first book in this trilogy, so I don't know if Vivianne Lescheres was an important character in that book. If she was, I'm guessing the plot of that one centered on the 1722 battle between the Mikaelsons (the Original vampires) and the witches over who would rule New Orleans. We learn from The Loss that the battle culminated in witch-induced hurricane and an explosion, and that Vivianne died.

Now it's 1766. The Mikaelsons rule New Orleans with a firm hand, keeping the witch clans at bay in the surrounding swamplands. The werewolves, too, have fled the city for fear of Klaus. And Klaus still mourns Vivianne. She's the great love of his long, long, unnatural life.

...Which leads to a terrible decision. Pining for his lost love, Klaus goes to the leader of the witches, Lily Leroux, with an opal pendant from his witch mother. The pendant has magical properties, and Lily uses it to bring Vivianne back from the land of the dead.

This is a lesson literature has tried to teach us before. Bringing someone back from the dead worked out very poorly in Stephen King's Pet Sematary, in Douglas Clegg's Isis, and in J.K. Rowling's "Tale of the Three Brothers" in The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Klaus is many centuries old by the 18th century and should have known better.

The side effect of the spell creates an evil not yet seen in the Vampire Diaries world: zombies. In fact, Vivianne herself is slowing becoming more and more like the walking undead, who have a penchant for eating the hearts out of living things. Their first victim is Elijah's lover, Ava.

Don't worry about Elijah, though - he's learned not to get too attached to other vamps who aren't his siblings. By the end of the book, he's moved on to the lovely gray-eyed vamp Lisette.

Is Lisette a character on the show? I haven't watched very much of The Originals, although I'm familiar with Elijah, Rebekah, and Klaus from the TV version of The Vampire Diaries.

Some of the most delicious bits of this book are Klaus's love scene with Vivianne and Elijah's love scene with Lisette. Rebekah doesn't get a love scene in this one, unfortunately. The great love of her life, Eric Moquet, lost his life in the hurricane.

Klaus is a difficult character to love because of his destructive tendencies, but I find Rebekah quite sympathetic. She causes her fair share of destruction as well, but she's also been epicly mistreated by her older half-brother.

"By" Julie Plec is a bit of a misnomer; this was ghostwritten, with Plec credited as creatrix of the Vampire Diaries spin-off. She gets a lot of fandom hate, but I like her a whole lot more now that I know her horror film credits include Cursed, the stupidest werewolf movie I ever loved.

I received this book through the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review.

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The First Bite Is the Deepest by Elisa Catrina. $2.99 from Smashwords.com
“Funny and clever and emotionally hard-hitting” "A perfectly creepy read." Elisa Catrina's debut novel begins as a quirky send-up of vampire romance, but quickly turns sinister. High schooler Stella Ortiz starts dating the mysterious new guy, but her friends are convinced he's bad news: Sebastian misses tons of school, he day-drinks something that smells like pennies, and oh yeah, he's a vampire.

Oh How Pinteresting! Wednesday: Elmore Leonard Appreciation Post

One of the great prose artists of American literature, Elmore Leonard, passed away on the morning of Tuesday, August 20, 2013. Leonard was born in New Orleans in 1925 and later adopted Detroit as his home. His short stories, screenplays and novels were heavily inspired by the writing style of Ernest Hemingway, although Leonard accused Hemingway of using humor too sparingly. Leonard's crime noir style became a staple of U.S. popular culture, inspiring everything from a Quentin Tarantino film to a classic Western to the TV series Justified.

Leonard in 1989. Creative Commons photo.

This Oh How Pinteresting! Wednesday pays tribute to Leonard's prolific career - highlights, in my opinion. Feel free to share in the comments what your favorite Elmore Leonard works are.



I've never seen the classic movie adaptation of Leonard's short story (which he spelled "Three-Ten to Yuma").



The 2007 remake, starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, is so much more than a Western. It's just a flat-out great story about a father who will go to any length for his family.



I read Rum Punch so long ago that I don't really remember if I liked it or not.



I do harbor a certain affection for Quentin Tarantino's characteristically over-the-top movie based upon Rum Punch, which is Jackie Brown.



Ms. Pam Grier is not only one of the most beautiful humans you will ever lay your eyes on, but she's also a genuinely good person who loves animals. You can follow her on Twitter. She's a loving, supportive, positive person and, really, there's nothing not to love about her.



I'm not going to lie to you - I ship these two so hard every time I watch this movie (and I've seen it at least five times). If I recall, the book has a sex scene between them, which the movie does not, and this made my heart very happy when I read it.

The only other Leonard novel I've read (well, listened to as an audiobook in this case) is Tishomingo Blues. Supposedly, it was Leonard's personal favorite.



This one was published in 2002. I remember really liking it. It was witty and funny in the noirish way that Leonard's works usually are and just really entertaining.



Surprisingly, I've never seen Out of Sight, which is unusual because I'm one of those rare people who loves almost all the movies Jennifer Lopez is in.



This is the short story collection that Justified in based on. I've never seen the show, but my dad is a big fan, and he's also read the book.



I wonder if Netflix has Justified. I'll need a new TV obsession soon, now that I've watched all the episodes of Orange Is the New Black and the True Blood season (and possibly the entire series) is over.

That Time I Tried Out For Jeopardy!

Yesterday was my second in-person audition for the U.S. game show Jeopardy! I'd tried out before in 2004. To accomplish this, Tit Elingtin and I had to travel the short distance to Chicago, which we did by commuter train. I brought the New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy to read on the train (and was, therefore, stuck carrying this rather ponderous volume the rest of the trip).

We stayed at the same hotel where the tryouts took place, the Sheraton Hotel and Towers. It was ridiculously expensive and not even the nicest hotel we've ever stayed in. (Nicer that the Congress Plaza, though, and the Congress Plaza's pretty nice, with that fantastic view of Grant Park.) Most of Sunday night was devoted to studying, but we did some exploring, too. We went to a mall and ate at Coast Burger, then had a beer at a bar called Canteen (which used to be Grami). The bartender bought us each a shot of Jameson, so obviously, he is my new best friend. But that's all - one shot and one beer. Then, right back to studying.

Public domain

The next morning, after a cup of coffee that I still contend was brewed the night before and a breakfast at Subway - falafel. Whoever thought of selling falafel at Subway is a genius! It goes great with flatbread - I headed down to the morning audition. I passed the online test to get there, but they retested us in person. I can't tell you anything about any of the questions, but then I got to play the mock game with two other players. It's fun, but harder than it looks on TV. I think the interview went well. I hope I'll be getting my call to come out to LA soon. 

Then the pressure was off, and we could go play. We hopped on the subway and went to Wicker Park. This is the first time in many visits to Chicago that I've ever been to the Wicker Park neighborhood. I was intent on visiting Quimby's, the bookstore famed for its graphic novels, comics and zines. The problem was, there were TOO many comics and zines. I ended up not buying anything because I was so overwhelmed by all the choices. Sorry, Quimby's. Wicker Park wasn't a total waste of time, though: we ate at the Thai/Japanese restaurant next to the bookstore. I had the Chicago maki, and it was pretty good, even though the spicy mayo was a little too spicy for my personal taste. (Just a little too spicy, not a lot.) Tit had steamed chicken dumplings and miso soup - the best miso soup I ever tasted. 

When we got off the subway, it was time to make arrangements to get back on the commuter train out of town. We did have time for one more Michigan Avenue stop, though - the Fine Arts Building. We had a beer at The Artists' Restaurant, then went up the second floor in what, I'm sure, is the oldest elevator I've ever ridden. It even had an attendant. 

A Russian blue cat. Photo by Kabir Bakie, 2005. Creative Commons license. 

On the second floor is Selected Works, a used book store run by Keith Peterson and his bookstore cat. Keith is an author; his book is called, appropriately enough, The Body in the Bookstore Sink. I don't know if the big, blue bookstore cat (likely a Russian blue) had ever written a novel. 

My fascinating find at Selected Works was Ernest Hemingway and the Movies by Frank M. Lawrence. I couldn't resist it because it has a side-by-side comparison of Hemingway's short story "The Killers," the 1946 film and the 1963 remake (with Lee Marvin and Angie Dickinson in place of Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner). 

Because, you know, I can't just watch a movie based on a book. I have to get obsessive and read more about it. If Keith had any nonfiction books on the subject of James Jones, I would have had to buy those, too. 

We took the time to look at and appreciate the turn-of-the-19th-century building - its murals on the highest floor, its terrazzo floors, its iron and brass railings. It used to be the showroom in which the Studebakers sold horse-drawn carriages before they took to making cars. Then we had to get back on the train. 

Freed from having to study for my audition, I was able to return to Patricia Bosworth's biography of Montgomery Clift on the train. It's a fascinating and disturbing read. Bosworth mentions (and, I think, kind of glosses over) Monty's arrest in New Orleans for allegedly soliciting "a young boy" for sex. Apparently, charges were never filed, so there's no evidence to say what, if anything, ever happened. In colloquial use, "a young boy" could mean anything from a very small child to a 17-year-old - and, depending on the state law of Louisiana at that time, a teenager might have been above the legal age of consent. Keep in mind, too, that it wasn't uncommon in the pre-GLBTQ civil rights days for police to arrest men just for being seen in public picking up other men, so it may have been a completely false charge initiated by a cop who just didn't like the way Monty walked or something. 

Public domain

On the other hand, people saw the 29-year-old Monty kissing Elizabeth Taylor when she was 17, and Judy Balaban (her father was the head of Paramount) said she dated Monty when she was 16 and he was in his 30s. Balaban never explicitly says that their relationship was sexual, but she does imply it, saying that one weekend, given the choice of whether to share a bed or stay in separate rooms, they choose to stay in the same bed. Again, 16 may have been legal at that time and place, but by modern standards we'd almost certainly consider that emotionally unhealthy behavior - and potentially abusive, because of the huge difference in experience between them. 

So again, I think Bosworth is glossing over some of the more problematic facts, but I also have to consider the context, the fact that this happened 50+ years ago and the fact that it may be too paternalistic of me to suggest that 16- and 17-year-old young women shouldn't claim the right to make their own sexual decisions. See also "Reviving the Runaways: Who Should Rule When Law, Psychology and Teenage Hormones Collide?" 

The not-problematic part I learned was that Monty and James Jones met at a party, at which Jones personally hand-picked Monty to play Prewitt in From Here to Eternity. Monty studied Jones' mannerisms, and Jones was found of telling people that Monty's performance as Prewitt was, in a sense, an impression of Jones himself. 

Today I received a royalty check for a reprint of an article I'd forgotten I'd even submitted to a small regional magazine. I used it to purchase the Season One boxed set of Person of Interest. Triumph! Every time I get a double-digit royalty check, I feel like I'm Ernest Hemingway. 

Vamps...New dead girl anthology from Torquere Press

I may be dead, but I can still dream.

I dreamt I was the maiden Persephone, my sun-streaked brown hair falling in curls down to my slim adolescent waist, my golden skin shining in the late afternoon sun of the meadow. Suddenly, a shadow fell across my body, chilling me. In an instant I was snatched away to the Underworld by grim, darkly beautiful Hecate. She declared herself my queen and my lover, but I refused her. Refused her, until she squeezed between my unwilling lips the juice of six blood-red pomegranate seeds. With the sticky, sweet and tart juice on my tongue, I became part of the Underworld.

I was just about to claim my rightful place as co-regent of the Realm of the Dead when I was awakened by loud voices. The television, I soon realized. My mortal lover, Hollie, had suddenly cranked up the volume as she sat in the living room.

As I vainly attempted to stuff Hollie’s pillow and mine into my ears to mute the noisy intrusion, I heard a familiar, televised voice. "Affirmative action perpetrates the worst kind of injustice, Larry," the woman said. Followed by more intellectual blah blah blah, interrupted at some point by Larry King’s follow-up question. I tossed my sheet aside angrily and crept up behind Hollie’s recliner.

Hollie’s hand still held the remote, as if poised to turn it up louder, should the need arise. It wouldn’t, of course. My hearing is far better than that of mortals.

"Mama looks good," I said. Hollie startled when I spoke, dropping the remote. Three months undead, and I’m already a master of sneaking up on folks. "Damn good. She must be getting some regular." I settled onto the arm of Hollie’s chair.

"You scared me," Hollie said.

This is an excerpt from "Oakley Falls," my contribution to Vamps from Torquere Press.

Oakley is a lesbian, a vampire, and a stripper. She and her mortal lover Hollie have their issues, but Oakley's unlife is going well...so why does she find herself waking up chained to a chair in the basement of The Third Eye Gentleman's Club? Could it have something to do with her favorite pro basketball player, flamboyant, New Orleans-bred Johnny Lee Bayliss?

Celebrating Midsummer Night

Midsummer Eve and Midsummer Night are celebrated in Europe around the time of the summer solstice (which sounds a little odd, since we now consider the solstice the beginning of the season, not the middle). It’s typically observed some time between June 19 and June 26. It's a particularly popular celebration in northern Europe, especially the Scandinavian countries. In the British Isles, Ireland and Cornwall celebrate Midsummer most actively.

American cities with large Swedish populations, including New York and Chicago, sometimes have public Midsummer celebrations. Midsummer is also celebrated in New Orleans by those who practice Voudou.

In the agricultural year, Midsummer marks the transition from spring planting to summer hay-making. It’s also the harvest time for early potatoes and strawberries. In folklore, Midsummer is one of the times of year when magic is at its strongest. It’s one of the nights to be on the lookout for fairies (as in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and/or evil spirits.

The Christianized named for Midsummer is St. John’s Day. It refers to St. John the Baptist, who is called Ivan Kupala in Russian. Gwyl Ifan is the Welsh name for St. John’s Day, and its Irish name is Oiche Fheile Eoin. The saint’s official feast day in the Catholic Church is June 24, corresponding to six months before and after Christmas. St. John’s Day is also a Masonic holiday, as John the Baptist is considered one of the “patron saints” of Masonry.

Before the Christian era, Finland celebrated Midsummer as the holiday of the god Ukko. The Irish associate it with Aine, the goddess of the moon and of love. On the Neopagan calendar, Midsummer is sometimes called Litha, a Germanic word.

Midsummer customs include gathering or ingesting certain herbs; herbs with healing powers are said to be especially effective at this time of year. Plants associated with Midsummer include the elder flower, fennel, fern, foxglove, oak, rosemary, rowan, and of course, St. John’s wort.

Some visit a stream, well or other water source said to have healing powers. In Poland, women throw wreaths of flowers into the Baltic Sea after wearing them in their hair. Young men swim out to catch the wreath of the girl they want to marry. In Spain, women who stand in the ocean until they are lapped with nine waves are said to have increased fertility.

Bonfires are also common. Jumping over the bonfire is an ancient fertility custom, and it also represents cleansing and purification. The fires are said to “call down” the sun, encouraging the sun to help the crops grow. In Ireland, on the day after Midsummer, the bonfire’s ashes are scattered in the field for good luck. In Christian times, religious icons that became broken or worn out could be destroyed in a Midsummer fire without disrespect.

In Cornwall (the south-western tip of England, south of Wales), a Midsummer (Golowan or Gol-Jowan in Cornish) ceremony has a Lady of the Flowers who casts a wreath of both medicinal and poisonous plants into the bonfire. Her traditional chant goes:

Otta kelmys yn-kemyskys
Blejyow, may fons-y cowl leskys,
Ha'n da, ha'n drok.
Re dartho an da myl egyn,
Glan re bo dyswres pup dregyn,
Yn tan, yn mok!

(In one bunch together bound
Flowers for burning here are found
Both good and ill.
Thousandfold let good seed spring
Wicked weeds, fast withering,
Let this fire kill!)

In very far northern latitudes, Midsummer is the time of the midnight sun, when there is no sunset. Further south, people might keep torches or other lights burning all night at Midsummer. Latvia observes this custom, and in more recent times has added a 3 a.m. nude run through the town of Kuldiga.

Midsummer is almost as popular as Christmas in some Scandinavian countries. The Swedish celebration includes a bonfire, a maypole, decorating the outsides of homes with flowers, and divination. Midsummer divination, like the customs surrounding St. Mark’s Day, often involves trying to find out whom one’s future spouse will be. In Denmark, witch effigies are burned on the bonfire, as is the custom in some parts of Spain.

Sources:
Midsummer
St. John's Eve
Scandinavian Midsummer's Eve
Midsummer in Cornwall
Midsummer in Ireland
Masonic holiday

The Best Books I Read in 2014

2014 wasn't an OMG-spectacular reading year for me, so I had a hard time even coming up with ten books to put on this list. (As usual, I'm kind of cheating and counting a YA series as a book.)

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Goodreads Summary: Is falling in love the beginning...or the end? In Ethan Wate's hometown there lies the darkest of secrets...There is a girl. Slowly, she pulled the hood from her head...Green eyes, black hair. Lena Duchannes. There is a curse. On the Sixteenth Moon, the Sixteenth Year, the Book will take what it's been promised. And no one can stop it. In the end, there is a grave. Lena and Ethan become bound together by a deep, powerful love. But Lena is cursed and on her sixteenth birthday, her fate will be decided. Ethan never even saw it coming.

My Review

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

Goodreads Summary: When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils ... Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity, and unexpected revelations?

My Review

File Under: 13 Suspicious Incidents by Lemony Snicket

Goodreads Summary: Match wits with Lemony Snicket to solve thirteen mini-mysteries. Paintings have been falling off of walls, a loud and loyal dog has gone missing, a specter has been seen walking the pier at midnight -- strange things are happening all over the town of Stain'd-By-The-Sea. Called upon to investigate thirteen suspicious incidents, young Lemony Snicket collects clues, questions witnesses, and cracks every case. Join the investigation and tackle the mysteries alongside Snicket, then turn to the back of the book to see the solution revealed. A delicious read that welcomes readers into Lemony Snicket's world of deep mystery, mysterious depth, deductive reasoning, and reasonable deductions.

My Review

Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth

Goodreads Summary: Two years before Beatrice Prior made her choice, the sixteen-year-old son of Abnegation's faction leader did the same. Tobias's transfer to Dauntless is a chance to begin again. Here, he will not be called the name his parents gave him. Here, he will not let fear turn him into a cowering child. Newly christened "Four," he discovers during initiation that he will succeed in Dauntless. Initiation is only the beginning, though; Four must claim his place in the Dauntless hierarchy. His decisions will affect future initiates as well as uncover secrets that could threaten his own future--and the future of the entire faction system. Two years later, Four is poised to take action, but the course is still unclear. The first new initiate who jumps into the net might change all that. With her, the way to righting their world might become clear. With her, it might become possible to be Tobias once again.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth comes a companion volume to the worldwide bestselling Divergent series, told from the perspective of the immensely popular character Tobias. The four pieces included here--"The Transfer," "The Initiate," "The Son," and "The Traitor"--plus three additional exclusive scenes, give readers an electrifying glimpse into the history and heart of Tobias, and set the stage for the epic saga of the Divergent trilogy.

My Review

I Work at a Public Library by Gina Sheridan

Goodreads Summary: From a patron's missing wetsuit to the scent of crab cakes wafting through the stacks, I Work at a Public Library showcases the oddities that have come across Gina Sheridan's circulation desk. Throughout these pages, she catalogs her encounters with local eccentrics as well as the questions that plague her, such as, "What is the standard length of eyebrow hairs?" Whether she's helping someone scan his face onto an online dating site or explaining why the library doesn't have any dragon autobiographies, Sheridan's bizarre tales prove that she's truly seen it all. Stacked high with hundreds of strange-but-true stories, I Work at a Public Library celebrates librarians and the unforgettable patrons that roam the stacks every day.

My Review

Lost in Translation by Ella Frances Sanders

Goodreads Summary: Did you know that the Japanese language has a word to express the way sunlight filters through the leaves of trees? Or that there’s a Finnish word for the distance a reindeer can travel before needing to rest? Lost in Translation brings to life more than fifty words that don’t have direct English translations with charming illustrations of their tender, poignant, and humorous definitions. Often these words provide insight into the cultures they come from, such as the Brazilian Portuguese word for running your fingers through a lover’s hair, the Italian word for being moved to tears by a story, or the Swedish word for a third cup of coffee. In this clever and beautifully rendered exploration of the subtleties of communication, you’ll find new ways to express yourself while getting lost in the artistry of imperfect translation.

My Review

Pray the Gay Away by Sara York

Goodreads Summary: Star football player Jack Miller had it all. The perfect family, looks, girls hanging on his every word, and the respect of most people in his town. But one thing was missing--a man to be his own. When Andrew Collins showed up in small town, conservative Sweet, Georgia, he looked more scrawny mutt than high school senior. Andrew's plan was to keep his head down and graduate high school, leaving his family behind to start his real life. When he meets Andrew, Jack thinks he's found heaven, but reality holds him in check until one night when his lips gently slide across Andrew's and fireworks go off. As lust and something a little deeper brings them together, compelling them to take chances, people start to notice. Then the unthinkable happens, and Jack's parents find out he likes guys. The battle lines are drawn and they vow to pray the gay away.

My Review

This Star Won't Got Out by Esther, Lori, and Wayne Earl

Goodreads Summary: A collection of the journals, fiction, letters, and sketches of the late Esther Grace Earl, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 16. Photographs and essays by family and friends will help to tell Esther’s story along with an introduction by award-winning author John Green who dedicated his #1 bestselling novel The Fault in Our Stars to her.

My Review

The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead

Goodreads Summary of Book #1: St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger...Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

Vampire Academy
Frostbite
Shadow Kiss
Blood Promise
Spirit Bound
Last Sacrifice (currently reading)

The Wilde Passions of Dorian Gray by Mitzi Szereto

Goodreads Summary: Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s classic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Mitzi Szereto’s Wilde Passions of Dorian Gray continues where Wilde left off with the Faustian tale of a man of eternal youth and great physical beauty who lives a life of corruption, decadence and hedonism. The story begins in the bordellos of Jazz Age Paris, moving to the opium dens of Marrakesh and the alluring anonymity of South America. In his pursuit of sensation and carnal thrills, Dorian’s desires turn increasingly extreme and he leaves behind yet more devastation and death. He ultimately settles in present-day New Orleans, joining with a group of like-minded beings known as The Night People. They inadvertently return to Dorian his humanity when he falls in love with a young woman he rescues from becoming their victim. She will be his redemption, but she will also be his final curse.

My Review

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Shift by Madison Dunn. $8.99 from Smashwords.com
I'm not sure why it happens, but when I focus just right, I can slow time. Things around me become lighter somehow, and I almost feel the tiny particles of energy spinning inside of them. The thing is, having the ability to transform the world around you isn't all it's cracked up to be -- especially when you are running from the Valencia without any deodorant.

Amazon Vine Update + A Wonderful Vampire Dream

A Wonderful Vampire Dream 

I had the most wonderful dream last night. I was a carefree college student, and I was on a trip to a small city I didn't know very well, looking for a hotel to stay in. As I drove down the city's main street looking for a decent hotel, I saw a small pool of water (a large puddle or a small pond) and two men standing - leaning against a wall and a tree - a short distance away. I was vaguely afraid of them. When I looked down in the pool of water, I saw the reflection of a woman in the second-floor window of a house across an alley from the pool. I inferred that this woman was the lover of one of the two men, and this made me vaguely jealous. 

I chose a motel. Once inside my room, I don't think I was able to lock the door, or at least lock it to my satisfaction. The two men were outside my room and I manually held the white wooden double door shut to keep them out. They wanted me to let them in. Eventually, I felt compelled to let them in. I realized at least one of them was a vampire. He looked looked like Robert Pattinson (but not as Edward Cullen - there was no sparkling). 

Photo by Eva Rinaldi, 2012. Creative Commons license.

That part sounds vaguely menacing and not very wonderful, but the next part was what I really enjoyed. The vampire sat on the bed with me, and I noticed how beautiful his hands were. I told him so. After that, I wasn't afraid of the two strangers anymore.

I went into an adjoining room, where some other college students I knew were playing a card game at a big table. I sat in on the card game, and the two men also joined us. With all the conversation going on, we all got to know each other better. That was when the vampire told me he thought I, Erin, would be much happier as an immortal. I became very excited that he was going to change me.

I don't remember all of the details of what happened next, except that the vampire, his friend, and I were joyriding in the back of a convertible that someone else was driving. Whatever else we did, it was something frivolous and essentially innocent fun, and I loved the worry-free feeling of it all, as well as being excited that I was going to become a vampire. When I woke up, I just wanted to go back into the dream reality. 

I may have been thinking about Twilight a little bit before bed, thanks to seeing this on Pinterest. 

See? It's like the Twilight cover, only with Finnick Odair sugarcubes. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was a hot thing in social media yesterday because the second official trailer is out now. But we still have to wait until November 22 to see the movie. 

Amazon Vine Update

Last Thursday was Amazon Vine Day 1 for the month of July 2013, and both of the free items I chose were books. They came in the mail yesterday. 

One was the latest Dead Is novel (paranormal, young adult mystery) by Marlene Perez, called Dead Is Just a Dream. Like the classic Nightmare on Elm Street horror films, it's about teenagers who die in their sleep. 

Its official release date is September 3, but you can preorder now. 

The second book is Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink. This is a nonfiction book (Fink is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist as well as a physician) about Memorial Medical Center, a New Orleans hospital inside the flooded zone during Hurricane Katrina. 

Again, the book is not available until September (the 10th), but you can preorder now. 

I'm 109 pages in, and it's so sad. I just read a passage in which a doctor has told a nurse that the hospital is out of oxygen tanks and she had to let an elderly patient die, but that information was wrong--the hospital did, in fact, still have oxygen. That devastating experience the nurse had of having the old man die in her arms could have been avoided. 

This is the problem with nonfiction - reality is heartbreaking. Now do you see why I want to live in a dream? 

https://amzn.to/4cBthfu

Two Songs That Actually Deserve to Be Banned From Radio

I'm an erotica writer, so I aggressively defend freedom of speech. I write whatever I want, and so should songwriters. That said, I don't read my erotica on the public airwaves. If you want it, you have to seek out a copy. Here, I'm advocating for these songs to be for sale to anyone who chooses to seek them out, but removed from public airwaves. 

I think it's fine for adults who are able to exercise critical thinking skills to listen to them, but I wouldn't necessarily inflict them on younger minds with less ability to consume media thoughtfully. 

1. "Brown Sugar," The Rolling Stones

This should really be a no-brainer.

"Gold coast slave ship bound for cotton fields,

Sold in a market down in New Orleans.

Scarred old slaver know he's doin' alright.

Hear him whip the women just around midnight."

Human trafficking. You're talking about kidnapping women and selling them into slavery. That's human trafficking, and it's the lowest of the low of all human activities.

The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll: The Definitive History of the Most Important Artists and Their Music

I can hardly think of anything more disgusting and evil - yet no one seems repulsed by this song. Rolling Stone magazine named it one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Wikipedia notes:

"The lyrical subject matter has often been a point of interest and controversy. Described by rock critic Robert Christgau as 'a rocker so compelling that it discourages exegesis,'[7] 'Brown Sugar''s popularity indeed often overshadowed its scandalous lyrics, which were essentially a pastiche of a number of taboo subjects, including slavery, interracial sex, cunnilingus, and less distinctly, sadomasochism, lost virginity, and heroin.[8]"

7 Robert Christgau "Rolling Stones". The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll. 1976 (accessed 24 June 2007).

8 Unterberger, Richie. The Rolling Stones "Brown Sugar". allmusic. 2007 (accessed 25 April 2007).

Yes, rock critic Robert Christgau is a Caucasian male. I have a feeling Caucasian males feel less of a need to understand this song than women and also men of color do. Nothing's at stake in it for the white male.

The cunnilingus ("how come you taste so good") and sadomasochistic tinges wouldn't be so controversial, though, if we were talking about consensual sexual activities between adults. However, it seems clear from context we're dealing with African women being held captive and raped by white men.

This would be disturbing enough, but the creepy factor goes off the charts once you realize these lyrics were written by Mick Jagger, a white man who is the father of Karis Hunt, whose mother, the American actress, model, and novelist Marsha Hunt, is of African descent. He can respect a dark-skinned multiracial woman enough to have a romantic relationship and a daughter with her. Yet song lyrics that don't degrade women of color to the status of commodities and objects to be sexually abused seem beyond his comprehension. Again, I quote Wikipedia:

"After noting that the lyrics could mean so many lewd subjects, he again noted that the combination of those subjects, the lyrical ambiguity was partially why the song was considered successful. He noted, 'That makes it... the whole mess thrown in. God knows what I'm on about on that song. It's such a mishmash. All the nasty subjects in one go... I never would write that song now.' When Jann Wenner asked him why, Jagger replied, 'I would probably censor myself. I'd think, "Oh God, I can't. I've got to stop. I can't just write raw like that."'"[6]

6 "Jagger Remembers". Rolling Stone. 14 December 1995.

"Raw" is a bit of an understatement. Still, Jagger may have become a bit more enlightened since the 1970s -- but "Brown Sugar" hasn't. This song has got to go.

That said, Mick Jagger is still alive. Petition for him to re-record the song with completely different lyrics? 

2. "Cocaine," Eric Clapton. Miley Cyrus was widely criticized because her song "We Can't Stop" included the lyrics "dancing with molly" and "tryin' to get a line in the bathroom." The flak was presumably because of her previous "good girl"/Disney image and the presumptive young age of many of her fans. The same critics probably assume young people don't listen to "classic rock" radio, which is why Eric Clapton gets a pass to sing "If you want to hang out, you've got to take her out" about the extract of coca leaves.

Hip hop songs have to bleep out even veiled marijuana references, but Eric Clapton's paean to cocaine seems immune from these kinds of precautions. If we seriously intend to get drug references off the public airwaves, we need to start with this blatant love song to a drug that causes heart arrhythmia, heart attacks, strokes, irrationally violent behavior, nasal perforation, permanent lung damage, ulcers, and sudden kidney failure. Not to mention, it creates a criminal demand responsible for the deaths of countless law enforcement officers and innocent civilians.

You can read more about the effects of cocaine at WebMD. 

Some will claim this is actually an anti-cocaine song. If one of these is you, please use the comments to explain how, because I don't see it.

Both of these examples come from "classic rock" radio, which I sometimes listen to at work with my husband. Beyond the issues raised about these specific songs, classic rock heavily features the styles, words, attitudes, and preferences of white male artists over female artists and male artists of color. On the station I usually tune in to, I hear a small number of white women's voices: Grace Slick, Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, Deborah Harry, and Chrissie Hynde. I love them all, but they are only six women. 

Men of color are represented solely by Santana and Jimi Hendrix. Women of color as lead singers are entirely absent, unless we count Merry Clayton's vocals on the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter." Because it focuses so narrowly and excludes a lot of amazing artists, classic rock radio is very problematic for me. 

But I like some of the songs, though. 

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Almanac for August 29th

Erin O'Riordan's Almanac for August 29th: https://ko-fi.com/post/August-29-M4M412BMUB

Beatles Trivia
August 29, 1966: The Beatles play their last public performance together at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

Bummer August 29th

August 29, 2005: Hurricane Katrina, having been upgraded from Tropical Storm Katrina the previous day, makes landfall in Southeast Louisiana, causing the mandatory evacuation of the city of New Orleans. An estimated 1,800 people die as a result of this storm.

Back in Print (eBook): Oakley Falls, a Sapphic Vampire Fantasy

Back as a stand-alone ebook: Oakley is a lesbian, a vampire, and a stripper. She and her mortal lover Hollie have their issues, but Oakley's unlife is going well...so why does she find herself waking up chained to a chair in the basement of The Third Eye Gentleman's Club? Could it have something to do with her favorite pro basketball player, flamboyant, New Orleans-bred Johnny Lee Bayliss?

(Yes, I named a character after Timothy James Bayliss from Homicide: Life on the Street.)

"Oakley Falls" was originally published in the Vamps anthology from Torquere Press. Get the ebook for 99 cents now from these retailers:

Apple Books
Barnes and Noble
Kobo/Rakuten/Walmart
Smashwords
Tolino
Vivlio

Oliver's Famous Clam Chowder

Herbert: A Romantasy

Almanac for September 19th

Erin O'Riordan's Almanac for Sept. 19th: https://ko-fi.com/post/September-19th-Y8Y1Z4UC0

One year ago, I published Historic Ghosts and Ghost Hunters by H. Addington Bruce.

Bummer September 19th

September 19, 1692: Massachusetts Bay Colonist Giles Corey, having been accused of witchcraft but refusing to plead either guilty or not guilty in court, is subjected to a form of torture in which his body is crushed with increasingly heavy stone weights in an attempt to force him to plead. Corey refuses and is crushed to death, with his last words reportedly being, “More weight!”

September 19, 1881: U.S. President James Garfield dies of septic infection. He had been shot by his assassin, Charles Guiteau, on July 2, 1881.

September 19, 1902: One hundred fifteen members of the Shiloh Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, are killed in a stampede after one of them called out “Fight!” and this was misheard as “Fire!”

September 19, 1913: Purdue University student Francis Obenchain dies of a broken neck after taking part in a large-scale fight between first- and second-year students intended as a class hazing ritual.

September 19, 1973: Singer-songwriter Gram Parsons dies of an accidental overdose of alcohol and morphine at the age of 26. He dies peacefully in his sleep inside a room at the Joshua Tree Inn in California. 

His stepfather Bob Parsons insists the singer’s body be flown to New Orleans for burial, but friends of Gram Parsons steal the body from Los Angeles International Airport and attempt to carry out what they insisted were Parsons’s final wishes, to be created in Joshua Tree National Monument (now Joshua Tree National Park). They pour gasoline into the coffin and light it with a match, causing a tremendous fireball, and are charged a fine of $750. What remains of Parsons’s body is buried in Louisiana.

Almanac for April 9th

Erin O'Riordan's Almanac for April 9th: https://ko-fi.com/post/April-9-The-Battle-of-George-Washingtons-Big-Fat-Q5Q01DFYEB

Let us never forget the Battle of George Washington's Big Fat Head. Even though it definitely did not happen in real life.

April 9, 1925 El Dorado (Arkansas) Daily News

Beatles Trivia

April 9, 1965: The Beatles release “Ticket to Ride” as a single.

April 9, 1969: Bob Dylan releases his Nashville Skyline album, featuring Johnny Cash on “Girl From the North Country.” On the same day, Bruce McBroom photographs the Beatles in their second-to-last photo shoot as a group.

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Bummer April 9th

April 9, 1945: Nazis execute Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer by hanging at Flossenbürg concentration camp.

© Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons

April 9, 2009: Los Angeles Angels at Anaheim pitcher Nick Adenhart is killed, along with the driver and two other passengers in an SUV, when a drunk driver runs a red light and strikes the SUV, propelling it into a telephone phone. Adenhart is 22 years old. The drunk driver is convicted and sentenced to 51 years to life in prison.

April 9, 2016: New Orleans Saints football player William Raymond Smith III, age 34, is shot and killed in a road rage incident by a driver who has rear-ended Smith’s Mercedes SUV. Smith’s wife Racquel is injured in the incident. 

April 9, 2017: 45 Egyptian (Coptic) Christians are killed in two coordinated bombings of Palm Sunday church services carried out by Islamist terrorists.

 

April 9, 2021: Earl Simmons, a.k.a. rapper DMX, dies of multiple organ failure. He has been in a persistent vegetative state since April 2nd, when he suffered a cocaine-induced heart attack. He had essentially died on the 2nd, but after half an hour of resuscitation attempts, he survived for another week on life support in a semi-comatose state. 

The Park County (WY) Herald, April 7, 1926