talvinm

So, Sean just had to go and put this out there for me to see. Horrifying as it is, it nonetheless did something that we rarely see:
It inspired me to song.

With apologies to Simon and Garfunkel, and to all of you, and I hope some of you will speak to me again someday:

Hello Kitty, my old friend
I've come to snipe with you again
Because the zombies softly creeping
Stormed the mall while I was sleeping
And the zombies are hungering for my brain
Yes my brain
And on they come in silence

Except for you I am alone
Zombies in my fire zone
‘Fore the rush of the new-damned
I load my rifle and I clear a jam
Hello Kitty speaks with the flash of an AP round
Brass hits the ground
And still they come in silence

And in the fading light I saw
Ten thousand zombies maybe more
Some were walking some were creeping
Ruined bodies never speaking
Hello Kitty kills them-they do not care
They can’t care
They walk on in silence

Fool am I and yet I know
How this story always goes
Hear my words that I might teach you
Zombie arms that will soon reach you
Bits of brains will mark where I fell
And they’ll move on in silence

Hello Kitty barked and sprayed
To unhearing God I prayed
And suddenly without warning
In the light of early morning
When I cried out, “There is no ammo left anywhere in this mall!”
No, none at all
And zombies ate my brains
In silence

This one needs a warning: while it is not my intent to offend with this story, I am exploring some very real and troubling issues. Take a deep breath and find your center before you continue.

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Last night I asked for inspiration from my followers. Sean Graethorne offered up "I just can't seem to get warm..." as a story seed. I saw his comment and replied at 8:55 PM, thanking him and saying I would think on it. By 9:06 PM, I had taken this short story from seed to concept to completion.
That may be a personal record.

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Adulthood isn't an award they'll give you for being a good child. You can waste... years, trying to get someone to give that respect to you, as though it were a sort of promotion or raise in pay. If only you do enough, if only you are good enough. No. You have to just... take it. Give it to yourself, I suppose. Say, I'm sorry you feel like that and walk away. But that's hard.
Lois McMaster Bujold, A Civil Campaign

"Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself."

"Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the bastards."

both by Count Aral Vorkosigan in A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold

Took a recent post, cleaned it up and added a few things, turned it into my profile. (Hadn't set one on DW yet.)

Other than that, it's a pretty day outside.

Tip o' the hat to math5 for pointing me to this.

New Zealand Parliament legalizes same-sex marriage.

And then they burst into song.

Watch the video.

I am going to make this public here, because I made it public elsewhere.

https://twitter.com/AvoidComments/status/317675023731159040

This. This right here.

I have been accused of "Censorship" in the past, because I wouldn't read something somebody else wrote--or, horror of horrors, that I removed them from my "friends-list" (which I think of more as a reading list). That is not censorship, at least as they seem to conceive it. It is most definitely not a violation of their "Free Speech Rights". There is a right to SPEAK, but there is no right to require that other private citizens LISTEN TO.

Arguably, the government has to listen to you. If you have not actually read the First Amendment, or if it has been too long, read it again. Here:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

No state religion, nor can the state forbid the exercise of religion. The state can't prevent free speech, can't prevent a free press, and people have the right to peaceably assemble, *and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.* That last, right there, is the only point where it implies that ANYBODY just HAS to listen to what you have to say: you are allowed to petition the *government* for redress of grievance. Even if you have a beef with *me*, you have no inherent right to deal directly with me: you may have recourse through the courts.

The Bill of Rights does not dictate what private citizens may and may not do to one another, as a rule. Oh, there are occasionally cases where a private citizen is convicted of Civil Rights violations, but in almost every case they are either abusing a office of public trust in some way, or interfering with the exercise of a public function--such as harassing people who are trying to vote.

Ignoring someone who is saying something you despise or could care less about is not a crime. Rude? Possibly. But not a *crime*. Not a Civil Rights Violation. Stop cheapening that with spurious flames on the Internet, guys. Ask somebody who was born in a country that is NOT free. If you need a referral, just ask: I know somebody who is probably reading this right now. ;)

So, if somebody tells you to shut up, look for their badge--or their government paycheck. If they have one of those, they MIGHT be violating your right to freedom of speech--ask a lawyer. If they do not, they are probably exercising their own right to speak. If they don't want to listen to you, or allow you to say or write things in *their* forum, that might qualify as censorship according to some moral code or other, but it is not a violation of a legal right.

And if I remove somebody from access to my blogs, that is just me exercising my ownership of same. If somebody drops me from theirs, well, that is *their* right.

If I have offended you with this (or any) post to the extent that you want to drop me, go ahead. I won't cry censorship. I won't point to the First Amendment. And I won't listen if you do.

This is the story both of the TSO videos we shared come from.

I have enjoyed this countdown. Note that I am not doing anything special for January. Maybe something for Valentine's Day. We'll see.

It is now Christmas Morning! Santa left us some very nice stuff, and we are having breakfast and admiring our stockings and all the gifts under the tree that shall soon be opened.

Have a Merry Christmas and a warm and safe holiday season!

It's these guys again!



This was going to be the last day of the countdown. However, we found a little something along the way, and we are going to post it tomorrow morning after breakfast. :)

A warm and peaceful holiday to you all.