What I'm Reading...

I find it hard to read just one book at a time...it's kind of like the potato chip thing. I've always been big on information. If I see something that looks like it might contain valuable information, I have to pick it up and at least give it the once over. This week, I decided that I should share some of what I am reading with you. Just for fun.

First off, I picked up a copy of Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. Obviously, it was the title that caught me. This book has been tauted as "a no-nonsense, tough-love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous." Fair enough. From what I have read so far, with chapters titled, "The Dead, Rotting Decomposing Flesh Diet, You Are What You Eat and Don't Be a Pussy," I can see that these ladies mean business. They provide alot of good information about how different foods can affect the body, including explanation of how sugar is made. This is good to know if you are one of those people who needs to know the whole truth about things before you can make up your mind. As someone who rarely drinks milk, I had to appreciate their words about dairy products. For years, I have worried that I'm not getting enough nutrients because I'm not drinking milk. As it turns out, the ladies say, "Bullshit." I'm dying to read more, but alas, there are several other books in the stack calling out to me. I'll have to bring you up to date on the rest of this one later.

I picked up The Lexicon of Stupidity by Ross and Kathryn Petras simply because I thought it might be funny. The book is a collection of quotes that are less than brilliant taken from the mouths of some of our most famous celebrities. I figured I would go straight to the ones that had to be the best...the politicians. Unfortunately, I didn't find one there that I felt like sharing here. The one I found that was an unlikely candidate for being held up in the spotlight was this, "We were disturbed by the ridicule because death, especially to the person who has just experienced it, is not funny." A spokesman for a National Funeral Director's Association is responsible for this one. I guess he would be the expert.

Moving on through my list to a similar book, The 776 Even Stupider Things Ever Said by our friends, Ross and Kathryn Petras. They seem to be making a good living off of the ignorance of others. Why not? It is perhaps the only thing that is out there in overwhelming abundance. This book is more my style. My personal favorite is the quote by Bob Feller, Hall of Fame pitcher as he talks about the intentional lack of profanity in his autobiography, "You won't find a single four-letter word in there, I don't go for that bullshit." You tell 'em, Bob. I like to hear the facts from both sides of the person's mouth. As a former Human Resources professional, I could appreciate this one, "A review of your application indicates that you are not qualified because...you were not selected." This was in an EEOC personnel memo in 1973. Cool. Just one more and I'm moving on to the next book. Being the nostaligic person that I am, I really enjoyed this one from Mike Ingham,an announcer on BBC-2 TV, "Thank you for evoking memories, particularly of days gone by." I'm still scratching my head about this one.

The fourth catchy title that I picked up over the last few weeks is, 101 People Who Are Really Screwing America. This one by Jack Huberman intrigued me because I'm sure that there are thousands of people out there who are screwing America and I wondered how he could narrow it down to a sensible 101. In this book, Huberman provides the name of the "offender" and some details about how they are sticking it to America. For example, I was surprised to find country singer, Toby Keith on this list. Huberman says of the lyrics to Toby Keith's Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue, "Too much crowing 'proud to be American' only makes one ashamed to be American, Individual or nation, a braggart is a braggart." Well, clearly, he would rather hide his light under a bushel. Sounds like his problem to me. I read on, hoping I might find an example of how I, as a non-bragging American might be getting screwed. Right behind Toby Keith was Joe Francis, the Girls Gone Wild guy. I thought to myself, well, maybe this one is valid. After all, I hate Girls Gone Wild and most things associated with it. I agree that this is blatant exploitation of women and that it needs to be stopped. Huberman states that this type of smut is "well-suited for the conservative Bush era" because it is basically R-rated porn and is slyly winding its way through our culture because it isn't actual sex, just nudity and skanky behavior. I'm still not sure what Huberman's stance on this one was and how it made it into the book. I am not exactly sure if he was against GGW or if he just wanted to point out that it is out there.

The last thing from this book that I want to share is Huberman's inclusion of Dr. Laura Schlesinger. I'm not sure if he has listened to Dr. Laura's show or if he just doesn't like people who call themselves Dr. He states that she spends "three hours a day on nearly three hundred stations" making people feel stupid, sinful and utterly ashamed of themselves. I'm not sure that is Dr. Laura's aim. My personal take on her show is that she is one of the few people out there who is not afraid to uphold values that used to be taught in every household and in church. There's nothing candy-coated about Dr. Laura and that's what I like about her. As a feminist and as someone who was raised as a Baptist, I have no problem listening to Dr. Laura's views on marriage, life, and family. She's as entitled to her opinion as anyone and I don't think it hurts for people to be exposed to a little bit of conscience if they don't already have one. Huberman seems to hate all things that point out that it is ok to be human and that it is ok to take responsibility for our actions. Although I have had lots to say about this book, I'm not sure I'll finish reading it. I can only stand to be disgusted for a small portion of every day.

Well, I've taken what started out as a well-intentioned rant and turned it into a bitch-fest. On that note, I'll give it a rest. Though I could go on for days, I figure I'll give this time to sink in. Be on the lookout for the next edition of the Rona Shively newsletter. It's coming soon.

Until next time...

The Evolution of Rona Shively...

The thing I enjoy about some of my favorite authors is that they share the emotional ups and downs of the character with readers. I think it is important for the writer to be able to feel the emotions of the character as they write. If you are scared, angry, happy or sad as you write a chapter, you’ve probably done something right.

As I am in the process of writing the third book in the Rona Shively series, I wanted to talk a little bit about how this character has changed over the course of the first two books. I like the fact that she is evolving and growing with each chapter. I hope that the readers have been able to sympathize with her as she deals with the ups and downs of relationships, financial difficulties, and just plain living.

I plan to put her through her paces in book three by having her face up to things that even I, the author, am not sure I can handle. As I write about some of these things, I feel them in the pit of my stomach and I hope that I will be able to draw upon personal experience to find the right words to capture the emotional intensity of the moment.

When I read a book, I expect to get caught up in the main character’s turmoil. I want to feel as though I am walking right alongside them, figuring it all out. Who are the writers that invite you into their stories? I’m interested in hearing from readers on this one. What significant passages have made you never want to put that book down? I know that for me, I hated to finish reading any of Lisa Scottoline’s books. Scottoline has a way of making you understand where her characters are coming from. She digs in and gives you the details so clearly that you can even smell the food cooking in her stories.

When it comes down to it, that’s what we really want. We need to be there, holding onto our favorite character, making sure that they go in the direction we want them to go. Or, if they don’t we at least know why they chose the wrong way. As I get closer to the end of Rona 3, I am so glad that there has been laughing, crying, nail-biting, etc. Hopefully, it means I’m doing something right.

Until next time…

Rebecca Benston

http://www.theronashivelystories.com

Blog post originally published at http://www.wordpress.com/booksden

Passing the buck...

I am reposting this for a friend. I agree, parents are responsible for teaching their children how to act and that's the bottom line. We cannot continue to put the blame on the media, on the internet, on anything other than what we show our children through our own actions. One of the best things we can teach them is to take responsibility for their own actions. Stop blaming your bad behavior on movies, television, computer programs, etc. This is a huge problem and until people start looking at their issues with an eye towards resolving them instead of passing the buck, the problems will always be there.

Thanks,
Rebecca



STOP BLAMING MYSPACE!!

Anybody happen to catch Nightline the other night on ABC? In case you didn't, one of the hot topics discussed was MySpace. It is no secret to anyone who reads the newspaper or watches the 6 o'clock news that MySpace has been in the limelight because of "sexual predators" trying to "abduct and corrupt" the youth of the world. ! I see dozens of profiles a day showing 14 year old girls dressed like sluts, wearing four inches of make up and 32 layers of eyeliner, displaying their age as 18 years old and profile lines stating "Oh, I'm So Sexy" or "Hey There, Wanna Check Up On It?" Come on! The youth of today's world are already corrupt enough due to the undying need to be "older" than they really are. I seriously doubt there are tons of people on MySpace stalking "innocent young girls" who just happen to have tramped up profiles and ages 4 years greater than their own.

On Nightline, there was a story of a 12 year old girl who was a drug-addict and attributed it all to MySpace. She claims that Myspace allowed her to easily find drug dealers in her area, as well as older men to have sex with her. Now, at the age of 14, she has been checked into a drug-rehabilitation clinic and has been away from her family for 5 months. Her parents would rather place the blame squarely on the shoulders of MySpace instead of their daughter, who even admitted that at the age of 12, had already tried weed, crack, X, and had slept with numerous guys older than herself...but of course, it wasn't her fault, it was all because of MySpace.

Once again, COME ON! When are parents and children going to stop passing the blame and grow up enough to take responsibility for their actions and the actions of their children.. Parents: monitor your children online, take some responsibility for YOUR children! Children: if a profile name sounds like something that comes out of a cheap horror movie, like "DARK ANGEL OF DEATH WHO EATS THE BRAINS OF GIRLS"...chances are you DO NOT WANT TO ADD THEM AS
A FRIEND. Apparently there is new legislation in Congress now to block MySpace in all public schools and public libraries across the United States. All because little girls want to act like sluts and don't want to accept the consequences of their actions, and parents don't want to accept the fact that
their "innocent little girls" are posing as 18 year old crack whores trying to buy drugs.

A 14 year old girl and her mother have filed a law suit against Myspace.com because she was sexually assaulted by another user. She said he lied by saying he was on the high School football team, and THAT gained her trust. Obvisiously if thats all it took to gain her trust, chances are she'll pretty much
trust anybody and anyone (not really MySpace's fault). She's suing Myspace.com for $30 million because she believes MySpace has poor security. WHAT A CROCK! Myspace is not a babysitting service, take responsiblity for your own actions!!! What happened to her is a terrible thing and should never happen to anyone, period. Where were her parents? Why are they not held responsible for what their daughter does in their own home? Myspace has many many ways of blocking out/screening people, some are: you have to ACCEPT the person you may or may not know as a friend, as well as DENY people you do or do not know, you can have certain sercurity measures added like making your profile private, or asking for last name and email address, you can block a person, you can only associate with people you ALREADY know or simply you can NOT be on MySpace if you lack common sense.

Eventually, if this continues, MySpace could be totally outlawed from the Internet. Restrictions will be put in place in order to make MySpace "safer".
I don't know about you, but I use MySpace to keep in touch with my family and friends, use it for messages, and just to have a space that is my own. Just because some children want to act grown up, does that mean I may have to eventually give up my MySpace? If you feel the same way I do, please, repost this in your blogs or bulletins, or both as "STOP BLAMING MYSPACE". If enough people post this and spread the word, maybe people will get the picture and stop blaming MySpace for every little thing that their children do wrong. As a user of MySpace, we should all repost this and take some sort of action. This is not a chain letter, and nothing will happen to you if you don't repost this in 321654987 seconds. However, of all bulletins you will read today, I am sure that this one is the only one that actually has a point to it.

Pass this on if you support Tom, and Myspace.com. It's about time adults take responsibility for their own children, instead of blaming it on someone else.

Guest Blogger: Tylar Drake!!!

When Tylar Drake was seventeen she decided to write a fiction novel. She convinced her parents to let her take her senior year of high school by correspondence, so she could have more free time to concentrate on her writing. The book entitled; Her Ghost, over the years, was reworked for different publishers and grant programs and ended up becoming the first novel of a planned mystery/suspense series. Though all prospective interest fell through at the last possible moments a new project was born called The Other Side: The Bleeding Door. Over the last year, after coming in contact with a film producer in Philadelphia, she was convinced to ditch the book and turn it into a series for television, which is currently being considered by HBO.

Currently Drake is researching her next project a thriller about the most horrifying thing that could ever happened to a human being.

Thanks to Tylar for being my first guest blogger!

~~~~~
From: Tylar Drake

I want to start by thanking Rebecca for having me on as a guest blogger. I think this might be quite interesting.

So at the beginning of August I was watching an episode of Dateline, trying my best to sort through a terrible case of writers block. I’d been working on this new project for months with no forward movement, when they aired a story about an uncle who got a phone call from his niece in the Philippines asking for him to come and get her. See full story here.

So now you say. Well so what!?! It happened to a girl thousands of miles away, poor and desperate to make something better for herself and her family. But imagine this dirty ghetto in the Philippines. You are the young woman walking home from school, dreaming of a better life, a life where you can attain your dreams of modeling and acting and where you can perhaps make some money for your family. Suddenly you are stopped by a beautiful woman who asks you if you’ve ever modeled. Your smile brightens. She gives you a business card. From there she asks to move, where you will attend a modeling and acting school, where all of your needs will be taken care of, only thing is you need to sign a contract saying that you will eventually repay off expenses once you begin working.

Now imagine that you’re an upper middle class, educated, white American girl with the same dream. You sign the contract. You board a plane and fly out of the country towards the promise of achieving success and fame. You have just been trafficked.
This is the misconception that allows these piranhas to kidnap and prostitute young women and men all over the world, that it only happens to people who are naïve and uneducated. But look at the stats, last year alone nearly a million people were trafficked world wide, 17, 500 of those crossed through American borders.

As a people where have we failed each other to allow individuals to get away with selling another for money, whether it be the sex trade or the labor trade? What would you do if someone you knew was taken with false promises and forced into a life of slavery? Would you not do anything in your power to get them back? Why as fellow human beings have we decided that this problem is not our problem unless it affects us personally? Isn’t a life, any life, worth saving?