Of opening your own restaurant? I think everyone has at one time or another. I have. Cooking is my passion, but the business sense belongs to my wife, not me. Leave me in front of a keyboard or a cook top and the world is happy. Leave me in charge of finances and we’ll be eating Ramen for a month.
If you are in the market to start your own restaurant, be sure to check into the rates on any restaurant loans you may consider. It will save you heartache in the long run. And remember, since your working capitol is a loan, the interest you pay is tax deductable.
Jerry Uncategorized
Margaret Atwood’s the Handmaid’s Tale.
Looking back it occurred to me that my English teacher, Mr. Young, had a chortle or two at the expense of “Banned Books” everywhere. As a matter of fact, I clearly remember my Senior year’s book list. We had to have our parents sign off on the list the summer before and everyone’s parents did so. On this list was The Handmaid’s Tale, Grendel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Canterbury Tales, The Color Purple, and several other novels that had made it to the BBL. Genius man that he was, he had us read the stories and then make comments, discuss, and not once did he mention that the US had gone up in flames over this stuff. Tell a teenager it’s forbidden and they may read it, but it will be laced with guilt or adrenaline and you won’t get the full effect. Have them read it and then discuss it among themselves empowers both the reader AND the book.
So for day 1 of Banned Book Week, I want to discuss The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.
What was it, I wonder, that got the proverbial panties in a twist? Was it the fact that a man of power, from a fallen USA, could take multiple wives? Or was it the humiliating threesome in which the “new wife” would have to be held down from behind by the “old wife?” Maybe it was the forced slavery of all the women in the US…I’m not sure. While I found that appalling, for the CHARACTER, I remembered it was a work of Fiction. The story left me feeling unsettled. What I do remember is her journey through hell and her rescue from it. I remember being swept away by a fantastic piece of literature. Ban it all you want, America, The Handmaid’s Tale is here to stay. Long live Margaret Atwood.
Jerry Uncategorized
Well folks, the holidays are rushing in pretty quickly. (Where did I leave that countdown to Christmas widget???) The day all of us, besides my sister “the dedicated shopper” that is, will be upon us before you know it. You can’t stop it. It is as inevitable as the tide, and it is coming for all of us.
I’m referring to Black Friday, the official beginning of the holiday shopping season. Major retailers all across the country will be slashing prices on just about anything they want to move out of stock, and as anyone who’s gone shopping on this particular Friday can attest, the best deals are usually on items that are limited in quantity.
More often than not, you’re not going to find out what the retailers are going to put on sale until Thanksgiving Day, when your weekly sale paper arrives and the commercials hit the airwaves. Then you’re stuck with the old way of doing things, like getting to the store at 5:00 AM to brave the lines of turkey-dazed bad tempered shoppers that are all trying to buy exactly the same thing you are. But what if there was a better way to handle Black Friday?
There is. Instead of doing the same old song and dance on black Friday 2007, just log on to Black-Friday.net and sign up for their newsletter. You’ll be informed of the new sale items before anyone else is, and receive direct links to those products, with discount codes so that you can buy them online, not stand outside the store at zero-dark-thirty hoping that you’ll get there in time.
Jerry other articles, thanks!
As an editor and copywriter, I have personal pet peeves. Words that drive me crazy, especially if used improperly. Yes, I know I’m not perfect, but no one is. Think about the irritating girl in class who used to snap her gum all the time or the “I’m not touching you” jibe your irritating little brother used to throw your way.
What works for some does not work for me. I can ignore and/or easily correct some things: a lot being spelled as one word, anyways as a word (it’s anyway, if you’re interested), or informal IM conversations that have l33t strewn throughout (LOL for example). What really burns my bacon or chaps my hide is the misuse of Your, You’re, It’s, and its. So lets discuss:
Your refers to something belonging to you. Your car needs an oil change. You left your purse in my car. Your dog is quite the yipper.
You’re refers to the contraction: you are. You’re going crazy! You’re very sure?
If the word you’re can be subsitituted with “you are”, then it needs the apostrophe.
It’s refers to the contractions: it is and it has. It is NOT used as a possessive spelling. It’s raining outside. It’s going to be a long day. It’s been a long time.
If the word it’s can be subsitituted with “it is” or “it has”, then it needs the apostrophe.
Its refers to the possessive use of it. The dog lost its will to live. The sun turned its face from the world.
Soapbox rant over.
Jerry Writing Tips, Writing Tricks
The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom is sponsoring national banned book week beginning September 29th through October 6th, 2007.
I’ve always been amazed at the number of books that are banned or that someone is attempting to have banned from public schools or public libraries. When i was younger, it was Mark Twain and Laura Ingles Wilder on the chopping block for Huck Finn and the Little House series. this is truly asinine in my opinion and I urge everyone to participate.
Please note that I have nothing against a parent dictating what his or her child does or does not read, whether it be from a moral/religious perspective or just because that parent does not feel that the subject matter is inappropriate for his or her child. What I DO have a problem with is those parents attempting to dictate it to other people’s children!
Take this week and read one, or all of the most contested books of 2006. It’s our freedom, let’s flex some muscle, shall we?
More information HERE
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