Membro: bettyjo

No More Smalling Up Of Me
Jean Wilson

No more meekly saying 'yes'
When my heart is screaming 'no'
No more taming of my feelings
So my power won’t show
No more hiding my exuberance
From disapproving eyes
No more watering down myself
So my spirit won't rise

No more 'smalling up' of me
Pretending I am not here
No more running from the music
And the spotlight's glare
No more living in this prison
Barricaded by my fears
No more turning and retreating
In the face of new frontiers

Even as I am speaking
I am taking shape and form
Harnessing my powers
Like a gathering storm
There's no obstacle so bold
As to dare stand in my way
I am taking back my life
And I am doing it today.

publicado por theoldman às 8:34 am (EST) em Sep 28, 2009

Hi Bettyjo--

Thanks very much. I'm glad you're enjoying it and hope you like the next 200 pages just as much.

Cheers!

David

publicado por Debershoff às 10:25 pm (EST) em Jul 27, 2009

Hi Bettyjo,

My name is Chris Tusa, and I'm a writer from New Orleans/Baton Rouge. I was wondering if you'd be willing to read a novel I just completed. The manuscript is currently being circulated among some of the larger NY publishers, and my agent wants to get opinions from a few readers. Let me know if you'd be willing to read the manuscript and give us your opinions. Of course, if you're too busy, I'll understand. Just thought I'd ask:) I’ve included a summary below that we plan to include on the book jacket:

Dirty Little Angels
Set in the fictional town of Jupiter, Louisiana, Dirty Little Angels is the story of sixteen year old Hailey Trosclair. When the Trosclair family suffers a string of financial hardships and a miscarriage, Hailey finds herself looking to God to save her family. When her prayers go unanswered, Hailey puts her faith in Moses Watkins, a failed preacher and ex-con. Fascinated by Moses’ lopsided view of religion, Hailey, and her brother Cyrus, begin spending time down at an abandoned bank that Moses plans to convert into a drive-through church. Gradually, though, Moses’ twisted religious beliefs become increasingly more violent, and Hailey and Cyrus soon find themselves trapped in a world of danger and fear from which there may be no escape.
Thanks so much,

Chris Tusa
mail@christophertusa.com

publicado por cmtusa às 7:28 pm (EST) em Jul 21, 2008

hi! thanks for stopping by and for the recommendation on "hunger." i already have the madonnas and skeletons on my wishlist! keep me posted if you read anything great!

publicado por amanaceerdh às 12:06 pm (EST) em Jul 14, 2008

I've been thinking about buying Loving Frank. If you would, please post how you liked it when you finish.

publicado por varielle às 4:59 pm (EST) em Jan 19, 2008

Hey, BettyJo! I see you added me to your "watch" list - many thanks. Also had to smile about your area of expertise because my father grew up in Laurel, Miss. and has always been very interested in the flood of '27, which occured two years before his birth.

Happy Reading!

publicado por BookBully às 2:45 pm (EST) em Oct 26, 2007

thanks for the recommendations! i added them all to my books i want to read list! the first two i have already heard great things about but had never heard of the last two! will let you know when i read them!! and feel free to stop by anytime with more suggesstions. my suggestions to you are: still life with rice by helie lee, the pull of the moon by elizabeth berg, the pact by jodi picoult and songs in ordinary time by mary m. morris!

publicado por amanaceerdh às 2:15 pm (EST) em Sep 5, 2007

Hi there,
When I saw that we had "The Tensas Story" and "Sugar Dynasty: M.A. Patout and Son, Ltd" in common, I just had to check your profile. I also have an MA in history and a great interest in the 1927 flood, though my current research concerns antebellum sugar plantation management. In my collection are 800+ articles and documents relating to Louisiana and Mississippi history. Send me an email if you are interested in copies.

publicado por jmp3613 às 12:34 pm (EST) em Jul 16, 2007

Jimmy Carter's Sin Against Israel

By Charles Lenchner, PDA Israel/Palestine Working Group Coordinator
December 28, 2006

We all knew Jimmy Carter was in for it. Before anyone had read a single paragraph of his book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,” well known heavy hitters in the media were taking pot shots at the ex-president. Jennifer Siegel of the Forward got it right in saying that “critics of the former president probably will be most offended by his use of the word ‘apartheid.’”(1) In so doing, Carter departed from a particular script that leaders of the pro-Israel community were willing to tolerate from U.S. critics of Israel.

The Israel lobby – Jews and non-Jews -- has devoted enormous resources and political capital to supporting Israel. They’ve done a great job, strategically speaking, by funding think tanks, newsletters, endowed chairs, academic centers and media activism shops. These resources are deployed in part to secure short-term victories around policy issues. The larger and ultimately more important role is setting the limits of allowable debate.

The terms of debate in the U.S. are: Israeli actions and policy may be criticized, as long as everyone affirms Israel’s motives of only wanting peace and security. However, in Israel proper, other motives are debated constantly. These include a racist desire to subjugate Arabs to Western and Jewish control, greed for land, profit from a captive market, the wish to serve U.S. interests in the Middle East, and of course, classic stupidity, of the kind detailed in Barbara Tuchman’s “The March of Folly.”

In choosing to use the word “apartheid,” Carter violates the terms of U.S. debate. True, he does not actually accuse Israel proper of being an apartheid state. Also, he does not consider Israel’s motives to be racist. The term does however, connote moral obtuseness, a suggestion that some part of Israeli policy is wrong in the sense of ”evil,” not just wrong in the sense of “misguided.” We should remember that to its dying days, the white South African regime that gave us the word “apartheid” claimed that it was only acting in its role as a bulwark against communism and anarchy, and not on behalf of the white race.

Gandhi famously said, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” When John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt wrote an academic paper about the Israeli Lobby, they were ridiculed for appearing to support the myth of Jewish control of Congress and the media. But they did succeed in getting widespread notice. Carter follows the path they cleared, with the powerful footsteps of an ex-president known for ensuring fair elections and housing the homeless. Where Mearsheimer and Walt evoked learned essays, Carter has provoked hysterical gnashing of teeth. (Just look at poor Alan Dershowitz jumping up and down in Cambridge, virtually screaming, “Listen to me, not Carter!”)

Carter has succeeded, because he gave an emotional narrative of particular appeal to this country’s Christians – still a large majority . He not only explains the facts, he includes the story of how he learned them, as a former president and elder statesmen with extensive Middle East experience. Carter’s view – that Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine, along with its apartheid policies, violation of UN resolutions, and well documented human rights violations, constitute the driving force of the conflict -- support my own conclusions, and those of most Europeans and our own State Department, although they clash with the self image of Jewish supporters of Israel who wish to preserve their own status as peace- and freedom-loving victims, angry at the Arabs because they “force us to kill their sons.”(2) End the Occuption with the creation of a viable Palestinian state and the conflict will end. This is Carter’s position and one PDA enthusiastically supports.

I grew up in Israel and served in her army(3). I live and work in the Jewish community in New York. And of course, I recognize that Israel faces real dilemmas about how to achieve peace and security. Nonetheless, the occupation (in the West Bank) and imprisonment (in Gaza) of Palestinians cannot be described as primarily “misguided.” Occupation is an ongoing and brutalizing evil, carried out by people with limited moral vision and overwhelming military might. It is not in the long-term interests of peace in the region for supporters of Israel gloss over this fact. Nothing can justify what is being done by Israel to the Palestinian people, not even Palestinian terror, extremism and incompetence. The refusal to end the occupation over the last 39 years is most of all a failure of will, not some unfortunate result of Palestinian intransigence.

Carter's book will persuade more Americans to point a finger at Israel, and even consider applying serious, option-closing consequences (sanctions) to Israeli actions. If we care about Israel’s survival, we must care enough to apply U.S. political power and will to end the occupation.

Join Charles and other PDA members in a public letter: Thank You Jimmy Carter!

1 Carter Book Slaps Israel With ‘Apartheid’ Tag, Provides Ammo to GOP 10/17/06
2 “We can forgive you for killing our sons. But we will never forgive you for making us kill yours.” Golda Meir to Anwar Sadat.
3 I was a refusenik in 1987-1988, preferring to go to prison rather than enter the West Bank as a soldier.

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Copyright © 2004-2005 Progressive Democrats of America • All text available for public use with appropriate attribution.

publicado por addict às 8:33 am (EST) em Feb 19, 2007

Glad you are enjoying I am Charlotte Simmons! Thanks for your comment. I loved the book; and was surprised to see quite a few negative reviews. It is the only book of Tom Wolfe's I ever read. Anyway, that scene with the new roommates parents is hilarious! It is only the tip of the iceberg as far as the "cringe" factor goes. Based on the books we have in common and your comments -- I bet you would like Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout. Another girl's coming of age story with a few scenes reminiscent of poor Charlotte that just make you want to crawl out of your skin with sympathetic embarrassment.

publicado por jhowell às 6:46 pm (EST) em Feb 12, 2007

Thanks for joining Crescent City Connection!

publicado por smellthecoffee às 12:18 pm (EST) em Jan 23, 2007

So good to see more north Louisiana people on Librarything. I'm just down the road from you in Ruston. I tried the Apache Cheese bread for the first time about a month ago. A friend brought it to a club I'm a part of.

publicado por kaykwilts às 9:43 pm (EST) em Nov 15, 2006

BettyJo, I am in Zone 4 in upstate NY, and all's I'm growing is snow. Well, that's an exaggeration. It did flurry today, but didn't stick. And there are a few asters and mallows still making a brave show, but really, you'd have to say this is late fall and winter is just around the corner. I don't really care for the cold, but I feel absolutely persecuted in heat and humidity, so I'm not jealous of your full fledged fall garden . . . much.

publicado por ColdClimateGardening às 5:46 pm (EST) em Oct 26, 2006

Thank you for joining the Gardening group.

publicado por ColdClimateGardening às 10:01 pm (EST) em Oct 25, 2006

Thanks for your thoughts Cinnamon-girl...I LOVED [The Time Traveler's Wife]. In fact I listened to the audio and the reader was great...and I do not like all readers. It was my top book of 2005 so go for it..

publicado por bettyjo às 6:24 pm (EST) em Aug 29, 2006

Hello!

Although we share a difference of opinion on 'Water for Elephants' I see we have quite a few books in common, considering the size of of our respective catalogued libraries (which are also about the same). Have you read 'The Time Traveler's Wife' and if so, what did you think? I have that one still sitting unread on my shelf, and have been putting off reading it until the right mood strikes. It seems to be a 'love it or hate it' type book, too.

publicado por Cinnamon-Girl às 10:39 am (EST) em Aug 28, 2006