American boys need this, American boys, of all colors and all creeds and backgrounds, need this very badly.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, City Lights Books, San Francisco, Allen Ginsberg, Beat Generation

Her name was Elizabeth Henson

On December 29, 2018, a Texas teenager who kept kiddie porn in his phone was allowed to tend to a  5 month-old foster infant named Elizabeth Henson, in foster care, alone. The next morning, the child was dead.

 Not only was the teen, Christian Richmond, allowed to care for the infant, he was also caring for the dead infant's brother and three other children, two of which were Richmond’s siblings.

Richmond told the police, he fed the infant and eventually fell asleep with her on the couch, with the girl face up on his chest. Richmond’s mother, Nicole Parker, the recognized foster parent in charge, was gone all night.

When Richmond woke up, the child wasn’t breathing and had gone purple. By then, the next morning his mother had returned and the two of them attempted CPR but it was too late.

An autopsy on the baby ruled the death an accident, calling the cause of death “asphyxia due to wedging” a term to describe when someone suffocates from either lying face down or being lodged between a sleeping partner or surface. The medical examiner’s report supported law enforcement’s narrative of events.

Natalie Parker was arrested for causing injury to a child and abandoning or endangering a child. A few days later, her son, Christian Richmond, was arrested for storing videos of kiddie porn on his cell phone.

 Parker was hired as a verified foster home keeper through a subcontractor called  Kingdom Kids. That was in March of March 2017. Over the next 9 months, state officials site Parker five times for "possible minimum standards violations" and once for leaving her children unsupervised.

It took the death of Elizabeth Henson to get her license revoked.

Warm soup for the writer’s soul

If you seriously want to pen down books and articles, do it with unconditional devotion

Navanita Varadpande

 

It was a curt reply from the publisher — ‘Declined by Return of Post.’ Jane Austen’s early draft of Pride and Prejudice was thus rejected and lay on her table for the next 16 years before seeing the light of the world. My inbox too began receiving such responses from publishers and I drew consolation from this.

Writing always came naturally to me, it would fill me up with bliss, serenity and peace. I had become ‘writing’s most devoted handmaiden’ as I grew up. With each passing year I began casting an ambitious gaze around me and experienced this tremendous need to be published. I took solace in the fact that Ruskin Bond and Rudyard Kipling also faced such flak in life as they trod that ‘inky’ path to ‘writerdom’.

“ ... you just don’t know how to use the English language.” Rudyard Kipling got this response to a short story he had pitched to a now-defunct newspaper, the San Francisco Examiner.

My folder of rejection slips was called the ‘folder of encouragement’ and sadly enough I had stopped writing for myself ... I had gone astray trying to imbibe what each publisher threw at me or trying to learn the writing techniques of bestselling authors.

A few years later, I met an old acquaintance from school, a mediocre student who managed to somehow weave together cobwebs of inanity during our English classes. One always has this feeling of a deja vu on meeting somebody from school. So, we exchanged notes. She had indeed undergone an image makeover, dressed in a very FabIndian-arty style, kohl-lined eyes and speaking in manner laced with an unnatural borrowed accent ... I couldn’t really identify which country it belonged to.

“You know these books keep me so busy, working on one now,” she bantered. I wondered whether I had missed out on a title she might have written, on the bestsellers’ list. I was so excited that I enquired about the list of books that she had written. Well, the lady just needed a little goading on and there she invited me for a cup of coffee and a very “one-way” conversation, rather a monologue. “I already have a book on that epic for children, Ramayana and another one on Mahabharata, all published by foreign publishers, you know?” Her kohl-lined eyes squinted and her thin lips parted into a conspiratorial smile.

“Three books already in press. To get published all you need is some intelligent socialising, marketing and of course some mythological book in the home. Just do copy of story, change one or two words here and there and one book is ready. And nobody take you to court for plagaring!” Plagaring?

“Oh, you meant plagiarising?” I enquired.

“Yes, yes, that only. And these big publishers having excellent editors, they will do most of your work. Illustrators decorate the books so well.” She pursed her lips again as if she was going to set more author-goals for me, I squirmed under my skin, as I blurted an incoherent excuse to her and sprinted from there. (Ved Vyas and Valmiki must have been turning in their graves furiously!)

Phew! That was some sure-shot recipe to become a “successful” writer, now would I call her a “copy-writer”? This was when I sensed that clarion moment of truth and realisation dawned upon me that I needed to just write for the love of the written word. If you seriously want to pen down books and articles, take it upon yourself as a holy calling, do it with unconditional devotion, without judging oneself by rejection slips.

Well, a rather drastic revision was suggested to F. Scott Fitzgerald, by a publisher, “You’d have a decent book if you’d get rid of that Gatsby character.” About — you guessed it — The Great Gatsby.

Thus, a very Kafkaesque attitude always holds good for all, budding writers and otherwise — “Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.”

Navanita Varadpande is a writer based in Dubai. Twitter: @navanitavp

Italo Calvino

A CLASSIC IS A BOOK THAT HAS NEVER FINISHED SAYING WHAT IT HAS TO SAY. -     

                                                                                                                                    Italo Calvino

Self

I TAKE GREAT CARE OF MYSELF BY CAREFULLY SHUTTING MYSELF AWAY.

- Vincent van Gogh

Dashing

The word “dashboard” originated as a barrier of wood or leather fixed at the front of a horse-drawn carriage or sleigh to protect the driver from mud or other debris “dashed up” (thrown up) by the horses’ hooves.

Bingo

You want to write a Stephen King-ish type novel?

You want to write a Stephen King-ish type novel? Well, here you go, the groundwork is done for you.....you could add that the local sheriff had this lady as his school teacher...

North Carolina woman killed in mysterious animal attack, police say An elderly North Carolina woman has died after suffering severe injuries in a mysterious animal attack on a road in the small town of Pantego, police said. Brenda Hamilton, a 77-year-old beloved high school teacher, was found wounded on the side of Indian Run Road Friday. She was immediately transferred to a local hospital, where she later died. The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said wildlife officials weren't able to immediately identify the animal that mauled the woman during her daily morning walk. "Beaufort County Sheriff’s Investigators along with North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Officers and Biologist responded to the scene to investigate what kind of animal attacked Hamilton," the sheriff's office said in a statement Monday. "At this time preliminary DNA testing facilitated by NC Wildlife Biologist has eliminated any wild animals indigenous to the area." Pungo Christian Academy, the Belhaven school where Hamilton worked, confirmed the "precious" teacher's death on Monday. Several students — current and past — as well as members of the Belhaven community shared their condolences. "Mrs. Brenda was like another mama to all of us.. she will be missed by soo many. My heart goes out to the family," one woman wrote. Investigators are still trying to determine what kind of animal was involved in the attack. Authorities say canine DNA was found on Hamilton's clothing, but that the testing didn't differentiate between wild canines such as wolves and domestic canines. Investigators are collecting DNA from domestic canines for further testing.

I'm a die hard Bukowskite

BORING DAMNED PEOPLE. ALL OVER THE EARTH. PROPAGATING MORE BORING DAMNED PEOPLE. WHAT A HORROR SHOW. THE EARTH SWARMED WITH THEM

- Charles Bukowski

The acceptable Bigot

“I’m watching you, white boy.” Is the final line of a racist rant by a hateful, race-envy angry black woman named Isis (what else?) Davis-Marks in a temper tantrum published in the Yale Daily News.

Before you read any further, know this; Isis Davis Marks will get away, unscathed, with her racist remarks against 61% of the population. In fact, she’ll more than probably be rewarded for it.

Basically, Davis-Mark plans to spend her time in college doing opposition research against white males who attend school with her to obtain “evidence” of their racism and then use it against them later in whatever careers they chose.

Can you imagine, for a moment, if a white woman did the same thing to the army of poor young black men living just outside the wall that keeps them away from the Yale student body from them?

Here are some excerpts from this brat's evil rant;

Everyone knows a white boy with shiny brown hair and a saccharine smile that conceals his great ambitions. He could be in Grand Strategy or the Yale Political Union. Maybe he’s the editor-in-chief of the News. He takes his classes. He networks. And, when it comes time for graduation, he wins all the awards.

One day, I’ll turn on the television — or, who knows, maybe televisions will be obsolete by this point — and I’ll see him sitting down for his Senate confirmation hearing. Yes, he’ll be a bit older, with tiny wrinkles sprouting at the corners of his eyes and a couple of gray hairs jutting out of the top of his widow’s peak. But that smile, that characteristic saccharine smile, will remain the same.

When I’m watching the white boy — who is now a white man by this point — on CNN, I’ll remember a racist remark that he said, an unintentional utterance that he made when he had one drink too many at a frat party during sophomore year. I’ll recall a message that he accidentally left open on a computer when he forgot to log out imessage, where he likened a woman’s body to a particularly large animal. I’ll kick myself for forgetting to screenshot the evidence.

And, when I’m watching him smile that smile, I’ll think that I could have stopped it.

To be honest, I’m not sure what the solution is. This expands beyond vocalizing problems about sexual assault: The core of this problem has to do with our values. The problem isn’t just the Yale administration; it’s Yale students. We allow things to skate by. We forget. We say, “No, he couldn’t have done that,” or, “But he’s so nice.” No questions are asked when our friends accept job offers from companies that manufacture weapons or contribute to gentrification in cities. We merely smile at them and wave as we walk across our residential college courtyards and do nothing. Thirty years later, we kick ourselves when it’s too late.

But I can’t do that anymore — I can’t let things slip by. I’m watching you, white boy. And this time, I’m taking the screenshot.

Isis Davis-Marks  is not only a racist with a poison pen, she’s also a moral coward because her article was a concentrated, well planned, racist and sexist attack against white men, she didn’t have the guts to just out-and-out hate, so she cloaked her hatred in with some silliness about condemning racism and sexism on the Yale campus.

Since this angry lesbian bigot will be watching you,  I suggest to not only the white male students of Yale but to white men everywhere, for your good, you should watch her as well. For my own self-protection, you'll never know where she will end up after graduation,  I created a google alert for Isis Davis-Marks. It will let me know where she’s is since she’ll be graduating soon and I’m curious how and where this bigot will spread her poison outside the tall gates of Yale campus. But, actually, she will probably never leave Yale, or if not Yale, academia, where her brand of racism elevates her to a sort of celebrity status.

Not that she couldn’t do well in the private sector these days. Look at Sarah Jeong

 at the New York Times, she spews out article after article about her hate of not only white men but the white in general, is well paid for it and is the current darling of the Manhattan set.    

So why did Davis-Marks reveal herself?

Well, because at Yale, the curriculum and the teaching body encourages anti-white male attitudes. So as long as she remains at Yale, she safe and because she is obviously angry about being born a black woman. As a result, she’s envious and resentful of white men.

So, working on the basic truth theory that everyone wants something, what Davis-Marks wants is power. She wants white men to feel threatened by her. (“I’m watching you, white boy”) There is no call for social justice in her threats either. Nope, what her threats call for is future punishment of a specific race and gender.

The Yale Daily News is worse than Davis-Marks. The eunuchs there took a “middle of the road but not really” stance on the racist article, writing that the paper does not endorse “the content”….meaning the hate-filled racist and sexist attacks in Davis-Marks’ column…..they added that “just as we do not endorse the viewpoint of any opinion column we publish” but big deal, most of what the rag publishes is left-leaning crap anyway.   

Then, to be sure they didn’t come across as the lily-white operators that they are, the editors noted: “But we unequivocally endorse the right of Davis-Marks to share her thoughts in our newspaper without fear of violent retribution.” Let me translate that for you. Davis-Marks can spew out all the racist hate she wants without being criticized by anyone, she is a black woman after all”

 Here’s the best part of their editorial “We believe that elements of Davis-Marks’ column provided an important point of conversation for our campus community.” ……Really? In other words, all the racist sexist stuff she wrote is okay because some other things she wrote were okay too. Kinda like Hitler killing 8 million Jews but it’s okay because he also finished the autobahn.

The Yale eunuchs at the Yale Daily are outraged….outraged I say….that Davis-Marks has been the target of people saying bad things about her. But isn’t that what she was doing in the first place?

Know what they wrote that? They wrote that so they can convert the race angry Davis-Marks into the left’s favorite thing, a victim.

So what spurred on her little rant? While a bad upbringing, for one thing, an astounding case of immaturity and a deep, deep suspicion on my part that she’s not mentally healthy.  Here why.  After the 2016 election, Davis-Marks wrote “I cannot even function right now. As a queer back woman, I feel unsafe in this country” ….because a white male was elected into office.

Unfortunately, for white male students at Yale, she survived. But according to Davis-Marks,  the film “Vice” made her realize that Vice President Dick Cheney attended Yale and he was a bad guy in her view….and I’ll let you figure out the rest on your own because I can’t make any sense of it. (The son of a mid-grade government worker and housewife from out west, Cheney dropped out of Yale)  

The fact that a film can spur this kid into calling for the figurative heads of white men is….well….scary. As I say, she’s either remarkably immature, which, considering her age is probable, not mentally sound or she’s just a garden variety racist or all of the above.

For the record, I don’t believe, not for a second,  the Yale daily eunuch’s claims that they’re rent-free office has been flooded with threats of violence and racist message (The same thing Davis-Marks was dolling out.) I believe they made it up. They’re under pressure from the Alumni office for acting like the teenagers they are, they’re scared, worried about their future careers, so they’ve lied to cover up their tracks.

Ok

In the 1830s, in Boston, there was a fad of making abbreviations; also of using jocular misspellings. So “all correct” became of “oll korrect” which became abbreviated to OK.

The word would have ended as a fad, but along came US President Martin Van Buren (1782-1862). 

During his re-election campaign of 1840, his supporters adopted the word OK as a nickname for him (short for Old Kinderhook; he was born in Kinderhook, New York) 

The readers

Portrait of Edmond Maitre (The Reader), 1871, Pierre-Auguste Renoir

The Reader, Honore Daumier

Talk about having faith in writers..........

 Russell Crowe commissioned Nick Cave to write a sequel to Gladiator. When Cave asked “didn’t you die at the end of Gladiator” Crowe responded “yeah, but you sort that out”