Halloween costume ideas or "What about my outfit?"

 

Wow! The week is young and the young 'uns have showed up, showed out and showed their asses. Where do I begin? How do I begin? Let's start with the costumes that were picked by some for Halloween. Hear and believe me, selecting a pejorative persona of any race, ethnicity or whatever is NOT cool in which to adorn yourself. Let me repeat. NOT EVER! NEVER! No Blackface, no Whiteface (zombies, ghosts, spectres allowed), no Redface (demons excluded unless they come forward and protest), no Brownface, no Yellowface. It's a no-no. It's not funny, entertaining or witty. What it is, is ignorant and demonstrates a person severely lacking in empathy/compassion for others.

I don't want to hear, "It's a joke. Get over it. I didn't mean it."

Please.

It's asinine. Is one that stupid and insensitive? So you think it's dope to dress up as a dead Trayvon Martin (full Blackface) and pose with someone dressed as his killer, Zimmerman?

This goes for that "DWTS" honey who went in Blackface to a Halloween party. Yeah, I know her face wasn't that dark and the TV character she picked is Black but to simply dress in an orange jumpsuit and sport knots in her hair would have been enough. The extra mile wasn't needed.

This criticism (not hatin', there is a difference) extends to the young Black female who thought it was A-OK to "blacken" her face, wear gingham and carry a pail of cotton balls for Halloween.

Yep, nothing says Halloween fun like toting cotton.

Young lady, apparently, your kin has never impressed upon you the history of Black people in the States. Or they have and you have failed to grasp it. Let me inform you: the history of African-Americans in the USA has never been a dress-up game.

My opinion on all this? It's free will. They will behave as they want. But they must remember: all actions have consequences. These people are of the I-don't-know-and-the-I-don't-care-to-know-mindset. The notion of empathy does not reach certain centers of their brains. They see their actions as a laugh and a lark. And to make matters even wackier, when caught with doo-doo on their shoes, if they apologize, the apologies are as bereft of understanding as the acts that preceded them.

Alright, I have aired my views and you may not agree or care. Oops! There's that pesky word. But you know what? It doesn’t matter. It my blog. It is no skin off my backside because this behavior will continue to occur in all types of scenarios about all types of things. This sort of mindset spreads over all topics in varying degrees. It won’t change until the people thinking it, change. I do believe its prevalence needs to be pointed out though because being ignorant is never blissful or unintentional.

Do have a happy, safe and thoughtful Halloween!

 

PS. Explore more of this realness in my interracial/paranormal romance series THE FELIG CHRONICLES. Book 3, UNION, appears November 1st.

Inappropriate content in e-books will get your work pulled! Or “Why can’t I download my favorite underage, reptile porn author?”

 

No. No. No. It didn’t happen to me. I don’t write the stuff that’s getting yanked off e-bookshelves in e-bookstores. Again, it appears it’s the endeavors of self-published authors that are getting stepped on.

Yes, the topic of the books being pulled by Amazon, B&N, Waterstone, etc. cover incest, bestiality, rape and are gross but…to each his warped own. And these “books” are reader favorites because they are free or cheaply priced. Seems readers will try anything if it’s free-ninety-nine!

I could rant on and on about this tempest-in-a-teapot topic. Others are. Check out a couple articles in the online mags, The Kernel and The Digital Reader.

The subject matter of the “books" is off putting, but there is an audience out there for it. Someone is buying it. Therefore someone is writing it. It sucks that all erotica writers are being lumped together and their work is getting targeted because the admittedly outre subject matter of some is bringing the heat. If you are a writer of pretty tame erotica, your book can get removed from an e-bookstore because some inept gate guardian sees a flagged word in your title or book blurb. The rules for deletion make no sense. They are arbitrary.

Can we say Publisher Police?

I call it Publisher as hypocrite.

Why?

Because the same houses that are pulling the objectionable material are the same ones who green-lit the stuff for release.

What?

These books are formatted, and apparently not proofed, and released in house. And we all know that as long as you got the coin and think you are the next Hemingway, these places will accept your legible scribblings for release.

So how can these same houses now complain and act like the wronged virgin in a hot, mutually satisfying affair? They knew what they were publishing. I guess grabbing that dollar blinds one to what can circle back and bite one in the ass.

That goes for the “authors” too. They know their stuff is beyond the pale but refuse to see it. The lure of seeing your writing in print (E or otherwise) is too hard to pass up if the only thing keeping your voice from being heard is a charge to your credit card.

Hey, I’m not verklempt about this. All parties involved got what they wanted. I will say this: it might make publishers a tad more selective about what they select for publication. On the other hand, maybe not. Maybe if a fine was imposed they might sit up and take notice.

The other half of this equation is the starry-eyed “author.” I’ll leave it at, if you insist on writing crocodile porn and don’t mind losing revenue when it’s yanked, keep writing it.  In fact, get a bunch of the like-minded together and form your own house. Or keep writing and pause. Think really hard about putting out that loopy topic for all to see and that might possibly get pulled.    

The Ratchet have Risen! or the Banality of Evil

Here we go again! Please ratchet people, go away. Now. You make me really tired.

Whoa! My head is spinning like Linda Blair’s in The Exorcist. A new release on the horizon along with possible government default. How dare the spineless-taken-over-by-the-Tea-Party GOP plan this shutdown/default drama at the same time as my long awaited book release! Please!

Attention Whores!

But it’s so funny because the paranormal element in my series acts like the GOP/Tea Party.

Yes, I said it. The GOP, that needy slut, so freakin’ desperate to be relevant to someone other than some in suburbia, in rural areas and the one percent, shimmied into that tight-assed dress, went panty-less, strapped on the clear heels and sold it to the biggest freaks in the land, The Tea Party. Boy, the GOP must like it rough because the Teabaggers go hard. I have not seen such pandering since the 80s and 90s when the Moral Majority held sway with them.

Now, the pact the GOP has made with the Devil has come due. And the Teabaggers don’t play. They go all in. You are either with them or against them. And if you are against them, be you Democrat, White, Black, Brown, any hue, a fellow GOP they think is soft, they will go for the gonads.

Personally, as per my belief system, the Universe takes care of all things. Like I said when it detects a void or imbalance, it fixes it. And a lot of times the fix ain't what one wants and/or it ain't nice. A little like the worst possible interpretation of the Tower card in tarot. The latest foolishness involves messing with my President. And they must be called out. 

This past weekend, the most vocal, ugly, vociferous people attached to the Tea Party marched to the White House which houses the President, a man who heads the country and is the head of the BLACK family living there, and paraded the CONFEDERATE FLAG.

WHAT THE F**K! DON”T GIVE ME THAT CRAP ABOUT IT BEING A SIGN OF PRIDE! That flag is about intimidation when it’s waved or displayed.  The person holding it may as well put a hood over their head and hold a burning cross.

Excuse me, but even if you detest Mister Obama, the waving of that flag at the Capitol is at least treason. That's a mini lesson in the fed law. Something all Teabaggers should know because since Mister Obama became President they all became CONSTITUTIONAL LAW SCHOLARS! That flag represents the side who was AGAINST the Union, the country. And the side who went to war because abolishing slavery would be the end of the way that side were living. Off the backs of enslaved, unpaid hard labor.So that flag is not something to be proud about. GET IT?

Then to make matters even nastier, and to push it into the Theatre of the Absurd, TED CRUZ, Tea Party darling of Texas, stands up and gives a rousing hate speech which insults the President, Muslims and any citizen who cares about the USA. The man and his rocket scientist sidekick, SARAH PALIN, appeared purely for a photo op and to spew disinformation. TED CRUZ spoke at a  march that vets had planned to protest the gov’t closure of the VET memorial. A memorial that TED CRUZ voted to CLOSE! Hypocrite! He’s insane and dangerous. The Tea Party and their ilk only think of themselves. Bringing the country to ruin is their dream so they can blame it on President Obama, “that Kenyan Muslim” they hate.

John Boehner brought the date from Hell to the prom and he can't get rid of her. Serves him right for being so hard up.

The Tea Party reminds me of something that my grandmother used to say. She’d say, “I’m afraid of the person who can do want is necessary no matter what.”

How true.

These nuts don’t care that the whole country and the world will be set back if their plan to push default succeeds. They are not afraid to do what they deem necessary. Their looney followers think the same. All this because poor folks, Black and Brown folks would have healthcare. And The Affordable Care Act is LAW, not a suggestion. There are steps to repeal a law. One does not tack on one's request for a law to be repealed by treating it like a rider on an insurance policy. Talk about disrepect. Just sticking it on the budget like no one's gonna notice. How shitty.

The extremely sad thing is the way this faction has played on its constituency's fears. The constituency is mixed (please take Cornel West, Tavis Smiley and Dr. Ben Carson) but let's be real, a huge number are very Conservative Caucasians. They say they want their country back. If they are referring to the pre-civil rights era, I am sure they know that going back to the "idyllic" 50s was only "idyllic" for them. It was Hell for everybody else. They are afraid of the browning of America, gay rights and God forbid---people who need healthcare actually getting it. This constituency follows, like lemmings, anyone who will  make them feel good about their...ill will for, and skewed view of the less fortunate. So, there. But you know what? This misguided constituency who rallies and marches and waves confederate flags are being held hostage just like the rest of America. I am quite sure that many in those irate crowds receive and/or need those monthly food stamps, Social Security or disability benefits and surely need the Affordable Care Act as badly as the poor, Black and Brown people they vilify.

 So keep voting for the Tea Party, y'all. Keep clapping like trained seals.
 

In the meantime, stand firm Mister President. I stand with you.  

Excerpt from UNION, THE FELIG CHRONICLES, BOOK 3--BEING RELEASED NOVEMBER 1ST. FINALLY!

STOP THE PRESSES! STOP THE PRESSES! IT'S FINALLY COMING OUT! THE THIRD INSTALLMENT OF MY INTERRACIAL/PARANORMAL SERIES, THE FELIG CHRONICLES CALLED UNION COMES OUT ON NOVEMBER 1st, 2013. HERE IS A JUICY, SEXY, SNEAK PEEK AT NATE'S AND TINA'S RE-KINDLED LOVE AFFAIR. WILL THEY GET MARRIED? WHO KNOWS. WITH LIFE ON EARTH SO CRAZY AND UNCERTAIN, THEY TAKE THEIR JOY WHEN AND WHERE THEY CAN GET IT.

                                                             

“What was that?” Tina croaked. She pressed an open hand to the center of her chest. Her heart thumped double time and felt ready to pop from her body. “Good freakin’ God!” She continued to roll around the bed gasping for oxygen.

 “Take a wild guess.” Nate coughed and strained for air. Like her, his heart beat rapidly and made motions similar to a fish flopping on dry land. He reached out to comfort her.

 “That was the ‘other’? Geez, I thought I was dying. Is that gonna happen every time we have sex? I stopped breathing for more minutes than I care to recall.”

 “Me too. As for your question? I don’t know. But we’re still alive.”

 “And bonded.”

 “Lock, stock and barrel.” Nate entwined an arm with one of hers. “How do you feel about it?”

“How do I feel about it?” Tina repeated. She pulled herself up to a sitting position with the headboard’s help. “Phew! Let me catch my breath.” She rested against the wood. “Physically, I am tingling. I’m beyond fulfilled. It had been over two months. Not that I’m the sort who can’t live without a man. When I met you---”

“Tina?”

“Yes?”

“Be quiet and answer the question.”

“Make up your mind. I either answer or be quiet. Can’t do both at the same time.”

“You know what I mean. Hold that thought.” Nate left the bed to dispose of the condom. He returned and plopped stomach down. He rose up on his elbows and fixed her with his laser gaze. “Tell me the truth.” He moved closer to stroke her leg. “How do you feel about us?”

Tina shook out the top sheet and settled it over them. “I had no plans to get with anyone, Nate, and then you came along. You made me an offer that was appealing at the time: your help in exchange for no-strings-attached sex basically.”

“Whoa! Hearing that makes me sound like a...”

“Dirty young man? Opportunist? Yeah, but I knew what I was getting into.”

“Go on.” He softly kneaded her calf. “I’m waiting.”

“You are the last man I ever thought I’d be with past a night. Not in a million years. You’re Caucasian, Jewish, part-alien, and younger than me. Boy, can I pick ’em or what?” She scooted down to be next to him. She ran her hands over his shoulders and chest. “Now, you are my lifelong companion and my true love. You are everything to me.  How do I feel? Extremely happy, respected, deeply loved and loving.”

“That was worth the wait! I love you. I love you. I love you, Faustina Marie Cain. You will never be free of me.”

“I can’t now anyway.”

“All the same.”  Nate bounced up from the bed and went to dig in the top drawer of the dresser. He returned to the bed with a small box.

“Is that what I think it is?”

“Yep.” Nate opened the box and plucked the ring from its perch.

“Nate, I’m not marrying you and I’m not converting,” Tina said.

“You wouldn’t do any of those?”

“No. I’ve told you before, I’m not wife material. I prefer the C words: companion, concubine. I’m not cut out for any established religion either. It’s not me.”

“Doesn’t matter. Besides, it’s an engagement ring not a wedding band. It’s perfect if you think of the real meaning of this type of ring. The French root is “engager” which means to--”

“Commit,” Tina finished. “I know.”

“We made the most important commitment about thirty minutes ago. I hope it fits.” Kneeling on the bed next to her, Nate took her left hand and eased the bauble down her ring finger.

“Oh my friggin’ God!” The girl in Tina snapped to. She admired the sparkler by turning her hand this way and that. She looked at it up close and then at Nate. “Platinum?”

“Yep.”

“Emerald-cut solitaire,” she said with certainty.

“Yep.”

“Two and a half carats?”

“Three carats with two flanking baguettes but who’s counting?”

“I’m acting like one of those women I vowed never to be. Oh my God!” She kept staring at it and waving her hand around.

“Remember the night on the patio when we had the blow up?” Nate asked while resuming his spot next to her.

“How could I forget?’

“I had it then. I was going to ask you then. I’m happy I didn’t. It’s turned out better than I expected. It’s more appropriate now.”

“I love it.” Tina half reclined across him. “Thank you for waiting for me. Thank you so very much.”

“Thank you. Oh shit! What time is it?” He glanced at the clock. It was four A. M.

Tina tilted his face back to hers. “Why do you care?’

“I promised the houseguests breakfast at eight-thirty.”

“We’ve got plenty of time.” She rubbed against him and stroked his neck.

“No we don’t.” He pulled her fully over him.

Tina straddled him and he covered them completely in the sheet. She giggled at the touch of his fingers tickling her. Nate punctuated her laughs with kisses. From under the cloth, Tina proclaimed, “Well, they do know where the kitchen is.”

EXCERPT FROM UNION, THE FELIG CHRONICLES, BOOK 3
AUTHOR: P.J. DEAN
PUBLISHER: EXTASY BOOKS
RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 1, 2013