mjh's blog

Chapter and Worse Verse

Friday night, I sent off the first quarter of my Vista book, more than an hour and a half before the midnight deadline. Finishing these chapters was actually harder than I expected, which bodes ill for that final quarter.

I was helped this week by two great writers and editors, cko and MR. They made me very appropriately conscious of my overuse of “stuff,” “things” and “it,” among other placeholders. They did much more than that, improving the text immediately at hand as well as affecting me for the better for the rest of the book.

Now that the book is on its (the book’s) way to two or three more editors, I’m learning to appreciate editors. Mind you, I know I’m not perfect. I’ve read enough of my own writing to see that. I’ve read and re-read something I’ve written, marvelling at the errors I find the third or fourth time, only to continue to miss other errors. It is human nature to see other’s mistakes more easily than our own. That’s why we need editors and indulgent friends (and people who are both).

Still, as I write these words, I’m trying to tell the world something straight from my mind and heart — these are MY words right now. It is rare that MY words hit print exactly the way they seemed inside my head. It is rarer still that I might express myself in a way that both you and I see as really hitting the nail on the head.

And so, there is great pleasure in feeling “I wrote this!” To have someone come after me and say, “You misspelled that,” makes me feel foolish (though it has been happening my whole life). To have someone say, “change that to ‘I wrote this sentence’ and drop the exclamation point,” is, well, it’s … painful. These words are my children and no one has to love them the way I do, but no one should tell me how to tend them.

Can you imagine someone telling Julia Childs, “this soup needs more salt”? If the analogy seems a little too self-important, than how would you feel if someone were to adjust the burner on the stove, stir the rice, change the timer, season the pot for the meal you were cooking? All for the better, right? How could anyone resent that good help in any way? And if your helpmate adds a seasoning you don’t care for or vetoes your favorite vegetable, well, come on, surely that doesn’t bother you! Soon, it’s “here, I’ll cut your steak for you.”

And yet, who wants to read error-ridden, rambling and obtuse self-indulgence? (Besides blog readers.) An editor’s thankless jobs include reminding the author to make the point more clearly, directly and, sometimes, more succinctly. The editor is selflessly improving the work for the benefit of the reader and the writer, who gets the praise for his or her great writing (oh, but you didn’t see the three five ten drafts).

I’m learning to stop thinking of editors as a necessary evil and more as … well, I haven’t found the righter words yet, but I’m working on it. mjh

PS: Mer saw a sign from the Universe this week at God’s House Church, ABQ:

“God always leaves you better than he found you (like an editor).”

Which reminds me for some reason of this line from Junebug:
“God loves you just the way you are but he loves you too much to let you stay that way.”

PPS: Check out this Vista blooper:
PC Training & Consulting Weblog » @!X!^& Media Player in Microsoft Windows Vista

that glorious season

Harris Calls Church, State Separation ‘A Lie’

Florida’s Harris under fresh fire

Harris, who as Florida’s secretary of state gained national attention during the disputed Florida presidential vote count in 2000, said her religious beliefs “animate” everything she does, including her votes in Congress.

She then warned voters that if they do not send Christians to office, they risk creating a government that is doomed to fail.

“If you are not electing Christians, tried and true, under public scrutiny and pressure, if you’re not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin,” she told interviewers, pointing to abortion and gay marriage as examples of that sin.

“Whenever we legislate sin,” she said, “and we say abortion is permissible and we say gay unions are permissible, then average citizens who are not Christians, because they don’t know better, we are leading them astray and it’s wrong.”

Harris also said the separation of church and state is a “lie we have been told” to keep religious people out of politics.

In reality, she said, “we have to have the faithful in government” because that is God’s will. Separating religion and politics is “so wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers,” she said.

“And if we are the ones not actively involved in electing those godly men and women,” then “we’re going to have a nation of secular laws. That’s not what our founding fathers intended and that’s [sic] certainly isn’t what God intended.”
—-
From the original interview/survey (linked):

“Why should Florida Baptists care about this primary election?

They should care about this election period. I will tell you that everywhere I go throughout the state and even the nation, people say the pollsters, the politicians and spiritually—that Florida is the forerunner state. That what happens in Florida sets the trend for what happens nationally. And with this election, if Bill Nelson wins, it’s going to be a very frightening proposition in 2008 in the presidential elections because whoever wins Florida will win the presidency. And he’ll be in a position to largely influence. No other candidate can beat Bill Nelson except for me. No one even has a chance because of name identification and fund raising abilities and things like that. But the real issue is why should Baptists care, why should people care? If you are not electing Christians, tried and true, under public scrutiny and pressure, if you’re not electing Christians then in essence you are going to legislate sin. They can legislate sin. They can say that abortion is alright. They can vote to sustain gay marriage. And that will take western civilization, indeed other nations because people look to our country as one nation as under God and whenever we legislate sin and we say abortion is permissible and we say gay unions are permissible, then average citizens who are not Christians, because they don’t know better, we are leading them astray and it’s wrong. …”

http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/6298.article

It’s our Christian duty to vote on Sept. 5
By JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Executive Editor, Editorial

“the bottom line is—by whatever means it is done, I believe Christians who fail to vote are, in fact, sinning.

Have you ever considered the idea that it is a sin to fail to vote when you are qualified to do so? I believe it’s clear from Scripture that Christians should be the best citizens a nation has to offer. And in a nation such as ours, where the citizens direct the course of our government, the failure to participate in the most fundamental way we have to provide direction to our government cannot be seen to be anything less than a sin.

The witness of Scripture is that Christians are citizens simultaneously of two realms—the earthly nation of our birth (or naturalization) and the heavenly realm of the Kingdom of God. ”

http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/6304.article

The most nauseating part of this whole disgusting assault on the nation is the patronizing notion that Christians have to rule those who “don’t know any better” (me).

Can there be any doubt that if Katherine Harris believed god chose Duhbya as our “ruler” that she would cheat in the 2000 election?

One hundred years from now, people will look back at evangelism as proof of our mental health crisis or too much lead in our water. mjh

Truth is Stranger than Ridiculously Short Fiction!

This was ironic when I wrote it, now it’s ironic because I wrote it. mjh

mjh’s blog — I Submit (Sat 06/10/06 at 11:41 am)

Postcard from Albuquerque

Dear friends,

Greetings from New Mexico! This is the 40th straight day of rain here. It’s been raining so hard we haven’t been able to spend time at the beach or even to ride the paddlewheel up to Taos. The Rio Puerco washed away the Interstate yesterday. Lake Rio Rancho is close to overflowing. My hair is completely frizzy from the 100% humidity and mildew keeps forming on my suitcase. I can’t wait to get home to the desert around sunny Seattle.

The Line

I had noticed Steve Lawrence is out at The Line, KNME’s Friday night New Mexican round-table discussion, but I hadn’t seen the show since before our two week camping trip.

Gene Grant has taken over duties as host and that is an improvement over Lawrence (who must be having a bad year with the end of Crosswinds and losing his show).

There have been other changes that may be Gene’s influence. The overly simple inter-segment title cards have been replaced by a flat panel monitor behind Gene — a little more TV-ish, alá NOW. In the final minutes, there is a timer on screen to indicate there is only a minute of discussion of some topics. While I think that’s a bad idea in many respects, it does reassure the attention-deficit that we’ll be moving on real soon (and gives them something to watch in the meantime). At the least, it shows concern for keeping things moving. And there’s a teaser to get people to go to the online forum.

I still have mixed feelings about Margaret Montoya. I appreciate her perspective, I just can’t stand all those uh’s — UNM has several ToastMasters groups, Professor Montoya.

In spite of myself, I may warm to Whitney Cheshire, a very New Mexican conservative, which is to say non-fire-breathing (though, one must recall Dimdahl is a native New Mexican). She conveys a sense of “this is what Republicans think, but I know you don’t care, so that’s OK.” More mellow, less bellow than we’ve come to expect of the Right.

And, in a more enlightened age, this would not matter, but it was great to see 3 women, 2 men; 3 minorities, 2 Anglos; and not a middle-aged white guy in the bunch. I hear what middle-aged white guys think every time I open my mouth — I don’t need to hear more of that. (Well, I’m in the minority within the majority, but my cohort has held the stage long enough.) mjh

Incoming

I want to acknowledge some recent incoming links. Thanks! mjh

One Robot’s Dream

http://onerobotsdream.blogspot.com/

New Mexico FBIHOP

http://nmfbihop.blogspot.com/

NEW MEXICO FIRE NEWS

http://www.colfaxfire.com/fire/

casting stones

If you haven’t seen the video of George Allen, contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 — well, where the hell have you been? Actually, I missed it until Friday night on PBS, but word is that it has been the most viewed clip on YouTube.com.

The video was shot by a young American man of Indian descent who works for Allen’s opponent in a Virginia race. In it, Allen looks right into the camera and addresses the young man with a strange term that may be derogatory.

It’s not the language that matters here; you need to see Allen’s mien and posture. This is a man caught being very ugly, being a bully. He’ll go far in politics.

Now, I’m certain we’ve all done things we’d rather not see on video, maybe even ugly or mean things. But, we’re not all contenders for the presidency — no matter how low the entrance requirements have sunk.

Allen is a strange bird, from Southern California but with Dixie in his heart.

These days, many southerners protest they are held to an unfair standard. Let’s see: generations of slavery, secession from the union with bloody consequences, birthplace of Jim Crow, the Klan and lynching — aw, what the hell, all is forgiven.

By this rude summary, I do not mean to paint all Southerners as participants in or celebrants of every aspect of their history — OUR history. I sincerely sympathize with generous, kind-hearted, colorblind, love-thy-neighbor Southerners who feel unfairly judged. Nevertheless, there are a lot of Confederate battle flags around. It used to be said, “the South shall rise again.” It did — and put Duhbya in the White House.

At the same time, it is clear that Boston could be south of Richmond if that’s how we rate racism. Racism, like all the -isms, is deeply human if inhumane. Few of us are genuinely innocent after a few years steeped in whatever niche of our culture. Hate is human. Ignorance even more so. mjh

Read mjh’s blog — The Real Inaugural Address

Brothers and Sisters, it has taken nearly 150 years to win our war against Northern Aggression. A lot of Yankee blood has watered our gardens. Now, we are triumphant. We have beaten the Beast …. [read one of my favs]

abq rainbow

book report

A week has passed since my last book report, as it were. Writing is a little less easy now, in that I’m moving into areas that require more thought and more careful examination of Vista.

I’ve banged my head against a few things and crashed the system once. I’ve also upgraded the hardware again, which wasn’t absolutely essential but helpful.

This week, I finally received documentation on the formatting of the book. It took a while to digest and longer to implement. That kind of busy work is unavoidable but it feels less productive. However, with formatting, what I had written expanded to more pages, so maybe there was tangible reward.

I have my first deadline this coming Friday. I don’t think this one will be so bad. I’ll let you know next Sunday — my silence may be message enough.

Happy week. peace, mjh

a liberal with a liberal agenda

ABQjournal: Pelosi Leads Rowdy Rally for Madrid By Jeff Jones, Journal Politics Writer

“Nancy Pelosi is a liberal with a liberal agenda,” [Wilson spokesman Enrique Carlos] Knell said of the California Democrat and minority leader who could become speaker of the House if Democrats win a majority in November. “And she aggressively recruited fellow liberal Patricia Madrid to run for Congress so they can advance their liberal agenda together.”

[In another article,] Wilson, a spokesman said, is “focused on the serious work of the House … and not Pelosi’s and Conyers’ potential liberal agenda.”

I hope this is the year the use of the word liberal as a curse loses its magic. Liberalism has brought about many great changes in this nation and the world. Conservatism opposes change — and is, therefore, out of touch with reality. Extreme conservatism — the Radical Right — has driven the nation for 20 years. Had enough? Take back America. mjh

There are no hereditary kings in America

The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon, USA

“It was never the intent of the Framers to give the president such unfettered control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregarded the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of Rights,” Taylor wrote. She added: “There are no hereditary kings in America.”

Bush Stands By Wiretap Program, ‘Strongly Disagrees’ With Judge’s Ruling Against Warrantless Wiretaps – CBS News

“I would say that those who herald this decision simply do not understand the nature of the world in which we live. I strongly disagree with this decision,” he told reporters at the presidential retreat in Camp David.

[mjh: I find it ironic to be lectured by Duhbya about grasping reality.]

Blog, Blog, Blog

My thanks to Genevieve Smith for including two of my blogs in a column on local blogs. I saw a spike in visitors that day. I am delighted to be called an “edgy old-school liberal.” mjh

PS: Follow the link to some great blogs, including many of my favorites, like johnny_mango, jfleck, coco and newmexiken.

alibi . august 17 – 23, 2006
Blog, Blog, Blog
A guide to your local online community
By Genevieve Smith

MJH’s blog – edgewiseblog.com/mjh

“Ignorance isn’t just bliss, it’s good business.” This edgy old-school liberal has a lot to say about what’s going on in the world.

Ah, Wilderness! – mjhinton.com/wild

A detailed account of wilderness issues here in New Mexico and the world, along with a comprehensive guide to events and places to go to enjoy Mama Nature.

The Book

It is fitting that some are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the IBM PC this very weekend. I’ve been working with computers since 1980. My first PC was the “sewing machine” style Compaq with two 360KB 5 1/4-inch floppy drives and MS DOS 2.

Now, I’m up to my ears (or is it my ankles) in the beta version of Microsoft Windows Vista, the next generation of PC operating systems. I’ve been reading about Vista for a long time, long before MS called it Vista. I’ve had my hands on it for about 3 months. And, in two months, I am to deliver a book on Vista to Wiley Publishing.

The joyous shock of this opportunity has given way to the doubts that go with taking on a large project with a very close deadline. I’ve got some hard work ahead and yet the light at the end of the tunnel is blinding even as I just stepped into darkness. I’m as disciplined as any lazy guy with a short attention span. I can do this if I just don’t take my eyes off the monitor or hands off the keyboard. Wait, I need some coffee….

I can say right now that Vista is different enough from XP to be interesting and worth some study. I’ll report more about Vista later. (I’m posting links on my tech-blog as I go along.)

I don’t have much to say about “the writing process” so far, except that when I first started writing, text poured forth as I stood at my desk. I’d write and write and write and feel very accomplished until I saw it was all of 7 pages. Can we increase the font size?

While teaching for 20 years has contributed more to my readiness to write, I think that blogging has helped, too. I’ve been writing almost every day for several years. Not that every word I’ve written adds up to a book. I really should dust that bookcase. mjh

PS: I don’t expect to add anything to this blog before next Sunday, when I’ll be back. Hope to see you here.

PPS: My blog reading is also suffering. I’ll return to it with pleasure eventually.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Mer, Lucky and I drove a long loop up through eastern Utah, south-central Wyoming and central Colorado over 12 days.

I’ve posted my journal and some photos. mjh