Book Promo And Vignettes By Luke, Mary Catelli and ‘Nother Mike

Posted on by Sarah A. Hoyt

ON SALE RIGHT NOW: (A new section for this time period when a lot of people have a lot of things for sale)!

Also I wish to remind everyone that you can order now on sale, and have a bunch of books delivered to your loved one’s kindle on Christmas morning and look like a big spender!

ON SALE FOR 99c

FROM D. A. BROCK: Texas in the Med: Republic of Texas Navy

September, 1940…

The Battle of Britain is at its height. Every day RAF and Allied fighters rise to meet the swarms of German planes seeking to bomb Britain into submission.

In the Mediterranean, the Royal Navy, badly overstretched by the loss of the French Navy, struggles against the powerful Italian Navy to keep that vital waterway open while supporting the besieged island fortress of Malta.

To aid their ally, the Republic of Texas is sending Vice Admiral Karl von Stahlberg and the Texas Naval Expeditionary Force. Can his small force of cruisers, destroyers, and two aircraft carriers stem the rising tide of Europe’s dictators as the tyrant Pétain works to break up the Allies?

FROM TOM VEAL: Strange Tales for Strange Times

If you think you live in strange times, these tales will show you what strangeness really is.

  • “The Miracle Wrought by Silas Gantry”: A down-on-his-luck pastor performs a world-shaking miracle, then has to endure the unanticipated consequences of a world where everyone believes in deity.
  • “Shadowloves: A Tale of Desire”: Approaching middle age, a man who let romance pass him by rekindles an old flame at an exotic resort, only to discover that it won’t let him go.
  • “The Monkey and the Amazon: A Tale of Illusions”: In ancient Babylon, the alleged daughter of a warrior princess finds her fate entangled with a monkey that is more than it seems.
  • “Igor’s Campaign: A Tale of Ambition”: The World Science Fiction Convention comes to Yeltsin-era Russia and turns into a scene of speculative stock frenzy.
  • “A Fire at the End of Time: A Tale of Immortality”: On the universe’s last-born planet, a young scholar is offered a fearful chance to prolong his life past the death of the stars.
  • “Daimon Born: The First Adventure of Theagonistes”: In the realm above the Moon, a daimon who seeks to penetrate the cosmos-enclosing Empyrean changes the Earth forever.
  • “Pages from the Universal Library”: The Universal Library contains every book that has been or can be written. Presented here are reviews of works that lack only a connection to our version of reality. You will discover how thwarting the 9/11 plot led to the impeachment of George W. Bush, which holiday could not be decolonized, who made cricket America’s national pastime (with an assist from the designated hitter rule) and why a German politician killed in the military coup of 1936 became a progressive hero.
  • “Clicks & Colluders”: A Russian spy, a naïve journalistic neophyte and the aftermath of Hillary Clinton’s election victory, which quickly veers in directions almost as strange as real life.

When you finish these stories, you will appreciate the placidity of the mundane world.

from sarah a. hoyt

Christmas In the Stars: A collection of Christmas Short Stories

This is a collection of four Christmas short stories.
It starts with a star-explorer stranded in unknown coordinates listening very hard for sleigh bells. Then there are two deserters of a doomed planetary war, in a forsaken planet, trying to do the right thing to secure peace and good will, even if one of them happens to be dead. And did you know there was a small, sweet robot at the nativity? Also, sometimes, all you need for a Merry Christmas is a cat.
This is a short collection, but it’s heartwarming and cozy, and the sort of thing to read on a snowy afternoon, by your fireplace, with a cup of eggnog nearby.

Odd Magics: Tales for the Lost

Odd Magics
This is a very strange collection of fairytales, recast for modern life. In it the prize isn’t always to the fairest, the
magic is rarely to the strongest.
But lonely introverts do find love, women who never gave it a thought find themselves at the center of romance.
Doing what’s right will see you to the happily ever after.
And sometimes you have to kiss an accountant to find your prince.

A Few Good Men

Lucius Dante Maximillian Keeva was born a prince…

or so close to it as makes no difference. He is the son of one of the fifty Good Men who — between them — partition and rule all of the Earth.
But for the last fourteen years, he’s been imprisoned in a small cell, in what amounts to solitary confinement.
You can’t stay sane in solitary confinement that long, not even if someone supplies you with reading material.
When Luce escapes, he finds that his family is dead and people are trying to kill him. He doesn’t respond as a sane man would.
It is just as well.
Restoring a constitutional republic to a world gone mad, five hundred years after the fabled USA vanished from the face of the Earth is not a job for a sane man.
And Luce Keeva is just the madman for the job.

THE REST OF THE BOOKS!

BY ANTHONY GILMORE, HARRY BATES AND DESMOND W. HALL, REVIVED BY D. JASON FLEMING: Space Hawk: The COMPLETE Hawk Carse Stories: The Retro Pulp Space Opera Non-Classics!

In 1931, Harry Bates, the editor of Astounding Stories, was dissatisfied with the quality of the fiction he was getting from writers. So he, along with his assistant Desmond W. Hall, rolled up their sleeves and created a protagonist, and antagonist, and wrote four stories to show the other writers “how to do it right”.

The result, Hawk Carse, and his nemesis, the diabolical Ku Sui, are certainly memorable. As critic Schuyler P. Miller put it, “Hawk Carse was so bad, he was almost good.”

This iktaPOP Media collection of the original stories includes, for the first time, the fifth and last Hawk Carse story, “The Return of Hawk Carse”, written by Harry Bates alone, and published in 1942 in Amazing Stories rather than Astounding.

  • This iktaPOP Media edition includes a new introduction giving the stories genre and historical context.

FROM KATHRYN ZURMEHLY: Doomwalker

Dark powers are on the move in a world on the brink of chaos… Paladin Valen has hunted the broken remnants of the dead elven gods all his life. Now he is tasked with delivering a warning from his goddess. Called ‘Doomwalker’ for reasons he does not understand, Valen makes his way toward the great capital city of Crownshold with a sense of duty and foreboding. He crosses paths with the elf Maryx, a spy for the doomed kingdom of the elves. She is bound to him through childhood oaths that connect her to the terrible destiny of the ‘Doomwalker’. War is coming to the land and it is hard on their heels. Accursed warriors stalk the woods and an army moves towards the city with no sign of their passing but burning villages. Valen and Maryx’s fate looms over them, though just what that fate will be, neither can tell.

FROM CARLINE FURLONG: The Guardian Cycle, Vol.1: In Dreams and Other Stories

A man whose debts must be paid by vengeance. A woman desperate to save her husband. A grieving father finding a young enemy soldier on his veritable doorstep…

These fantasy and soft sci-fi stories wonder whether or not heroes need families. Are we not told that families slow the hero down? Is it not typically implied that they get in the way of the adventure? Are they a burden, or truly the greatest strength from which the hero and those he loves can draw?

Six tales in this collection center on family, faith, and self-sacrificing love as men and women fight for the ones whom they hold most dear. Whether the enemy is inner turmoil, a nightmare, or a demon really does not matter. If the threat seeks to harm a member of the family, it is going to pay dearly.

FROM MOE LANE: Ghosts on an Alien Wind

Science Fiction! Horror! Adventure!

Something murdered the Galaxy. There was no warning, no explanation, and no mercy… except for humanity. Humans were the only sapients spared, and nobody knows why. Now Earth and her colonies gingerly explore the Tomb Worlds, picking through the ruins of dead civilizations for answers, or at least treasures. The researchers sent out can bring back wonders. If they survive.

Pamela Tanaka is the Chief Pilot for a research outpost on the terrifyingly comfortable world of One-Eighteen, and she is precisely where she wants to be. But when madness, murder, and mass sacrifice profane her chosen home, she must search for answers on her own – but not “before it’s too late.” Everybody who goes to the Tomb Worlds knows ‘too late’ has already come and gone.

FROM I. M. LERNER AND CATHERINE OSORNIO: The Hidden Entrance (Under the Staircase – An Economic Adventure Series for Kids Book 2)

On a hunch, he pressed down on the ledge, first on Hubris and then on Nemesis.
Crrrr….
The click-clackety sound of moving gears creaked loudly on the other side of the wall.
Slowly the bookshelf slid aside, revealing a dark hallway.

After spending the summer discovering the Under the Staircase Society, Nate, Maya, and Maggie are finally back at school. But while Nate would be happy puttering in his workshop and tinkering with his 3D printer, he can’t stand by as their beloved Apprenticeship Program comes under attack. The discovery of The Road to Serfdom sparks a chain of events they could never have expected. From Cipher Wheels to Cicero, secret desks to hidden passages, the kids must solve the mystery…before it’s too late!

Under the Staircase® Books A mystery and adventure series that teaches treasured values: personal responsibility, individual liberty, and economic freedom.

Psst! Parents & Teachers: The second book in the series introduces a variety of Friedrich Hayek’s economic concepts—individualism and collectivism, the knowledge problem, the fatal conceit, and other topics—using examples from kids’ day-to-day lives in school, with friends, and in familiar situations.

FROM KAREN MYERS: King of the May – A Virginian in Elfland

Book 3 of The Hounds of Annwn.

MORE VALUABLE AS A WEAPON THAN A KINGMAKER, HE MUST MAKE HIS OWN CHOICES TO SECURE THE FUTURE.

George Talbot Traherne, the human huntsman for the Wild Hunt, had hoped to settle into a quiet life with his new family, but it was not to be. Gwyn ap Nudd, Prince of Annwn, has plans to secure his domain in the new world from the overbearing interference of his father Lludd, the King of Britain.

The security of George’s family is bound to that of his overlord, and he vows to help. But when he and his companions stand against Lludd and his allies at court, disaster overturns all their plans and even threatens the Hounds of Annwn themselves.

George and his patron, the antlered god Cernunnos, must survive a subtle attack that undermines them both. Other gods and gods-to-be have taken an interest, but the fae are divided in their allegiances and fear the threat of deadly new powers in their unchanging lives.

George and his companions must save themselves if they are to persuade their potential allies to help. But how can they do so, attacked on so many fronts at once? Will he put his family into greater jeopardy by trying to defend them?

FROM HOLLY CHISM: Bite Sized (Liquid Diet Chronicles Book 1)

Meg Turner has been a vampire for twenty years. Her favorite food is rapists. Which is how she met Andi Donahue, her new best friend/ girl Friday.

And then the nightmares start. And the bodies start showing up–bled out and raped. Just like Meg was. They don’t have a whole lot of time to stop the killer before he strikes again, and only one way to stop the killer.

But how can Andi help Meg stop a killer she can’t even see?

FROM LEIGH KIMMEL: Beach House on the Moon

The Moon is a dead world, airless and desolate. Emmaline Waite has known this fact since childhood, when she watched the Apollo landings.

But here she sits on the shores of the Sea of Tranquillity, looking up at the gibbous Earth as the waves roll in. What madness can this be?

She gets no time to contemplate that question, for she is not alone. She is about to enter a realm of love and fear, of mindbending secrets that change her understanding of human history, and of self-sacrifice.

Her life will never be the same.

ALSO, ATTENTION, PLEASE, THIS CHRISTMAS, CEDAR SANDERSON HAS A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR HER READERS: 

Just So

Vignettes by Luke, Mary Catelli and ‘Nother Mike.

So what’s a vignette? You might know them as flash fiction, or even just sketches. We will provide a prompt each Sunday that you can use directly (including it in your work) or just as an inspiration. You, in turn, will write about 50 words (yes, we are going for short shorts! Not even a Drabble 100 words, just half that!). Then post it! For an additional challenge, you can aim to make it exactly 50 words, if you like.

We recommend that if you have an original vignette, you post that as a new reply. If you are commenting on someone’s vignette, then post that as a reply to the vignette. Comments — this is writing practice, so comments should be aimed at helping someone be a better writer, not at crushing them. And since these are likely to be drafts, don’t jump up and down too hard on typos and grammar.

If you have questions, feel free to ask.

Your writing prompt this week is: smart

83 thoughts on “Book Promo And Vignettes By Luke, Mary Catelli and ‘Nother Mike”

  1. “You Cheated!”

    “Of course, I cheated. You threatened the lives of thousands of people in order to challenged me to a contest for the title of World’s Most Intelligent Man and are surprised that I called upon my allies to save those people. For a person who sees himself as the Smartest Man on Earth, you aren’t very smart.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. slow claps

      Well played, sir. Well played. (Mostly referring to the person in the story. But that was a very nice line at the end.)

      Liked by 2 people

  3. “But I don’t understand. We can increase your intelligence without any risk to you. Your comprehension will grow in speed and surety. You’ll be able to help others instead of needing help from them. Why are you refusing?”

    “I told you before, I’m telling you again: Don’t smart me!”

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Merry Christmas, hoydens, huns, and whatever.

    “If I was smart, I would be conning the dropship, not this pod.” ….kachunk….WHAM!

    Like

  5. Off topic but kinda on?

    I was introduced the the Mackey Chandler series, “April,” here and enjoyed it.. I was introduced the “EarthCent Ambassador” series in the comments here, or over at Ambient Irony and enjoyed it so much I’m bothering you about it now.

    I mention this because I found the EarthCent series of series by E. M. Foner – 41 books so far – to be incredibly fun, whimsical and uplifting. Foner’s comments about the series often start with, “If you believe there is still a place in science fiction for stories that aren’t all about death and destruction. . .” Just as in Mackey’s “April” series, I find Foner’s characters confident, optimistic and simply fun to be around.

    I read the entire series in record time, and am just waiting for a few more books to come out so I have an excuse to read them all again. (They aren’t long, by the way.) :)

    Recommended!

    Liked by 1 person

          1. And after all that, it must have been listed here before, as I find I’ve already bought it – about 10 months ago. Just my tuits have yet to be edged to be round enough for it yet.

            Like

  7. The room fell behind them quickly.
    “As for listening to the tales,” said Lucie, her dry voice echoing in the tunnel. “Ah, yes. That would be the ever so clever thing to do. Take the word of a tale told to amuse you, as a way to learn of magic.”

    Like

    2. And if I could please make a small correction: ‘Texas in the Med’ is selling for the regular price, $3.99.

      ‘Texas at the Coronation’, book 1 of the series, will be on sale for $.99 starting Christmas Day through December 31st.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Lisa suppressed a wince, not wanting to display anything that looked like weakness while Spartan had the leaders of several teams of outside fighters here at Sparta Point. They needed to perceive her as a member of Spartan’s Own, not a baba to tumble.

    But dang it, barking your shin on a stone bench sure smarts.

    Like

  11. “So with the motion sensors, the low-light cameras, and the sound recorder, I’ll be able to prove whether Father Christmas is real!” said Young Nigel Slim-Howland triumphantly.

    “You’re too clever by half,” replied Lily. “If you don’t catch him, all you can prove is he didn’t come to see you!”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Crazy thought.

      I wonder if his family could arrange for visits by an android Father Christmas. :wink:

      Like

      2. Crazy thought? Nah, good idea! I suspect that their company could market “Visits from a Very Convincing Father Christmas” as part of their seasonal product line. And if Howland Technologies could make a convincing Santa, what’s to stop them from making an equally convincing Eastah Bunneh?

        Liked by 1 person

          1. Welp, it looks like you can get drones small enough to fit in a teacup today (through Sarah’s Amazon web portal of course), so I don’t think the tech’s too far off. Picking up little incisors and leaving dimes might be another matter, though.

            Is the going rate still dimes? Would an electronic funds transfer be more sensible?

            Like

            1. My memories are fuzzy, but I’m fairly certain I was raised with $1 per tooth. Dollar Tree was the most handy place to go for a treat, and back then it was a nice round number. (Apart from tax.)

              Liked by 1 person

  12. Santa was glad he’d put that smart Melvin the Elf in charge of recovery operations. Every minute counted. With Melvin’s revamped procedures, the reindeer would be in the stable within five minutes of touchdown, and Santa himself would be relaxing in the Jacuzzi with a hot buttered rum within ten!

    Liked by 1 person

  13. “All right, look smart!” said Nigel to his cyborg staff. “On three. One. Two. THREE!”

    Nigel, his butler Jenkins, and his maid Gwendolyn spoke as one: “HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO SARAH, HER FAMILY, HER MENAGERIE, AND ALL THE HUNS AND HOYDENS!”

    Gwendolyn looked at Nigel, then at the mistletoe, and sighed.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. “It could have been worse” Ensign Kendal said out loud.
    “You had to say it!” Chief Brock groaned out loud.
    “Fucking New Guys” Petty officer Simpson said under his breath.
    Just then the main power dropped off line and the emergency lights came on.
    “Before you three make fools of yourselves again by saying something utterly stupid you might want to check with engineering to see if that was planned or not, and Ensign if I was you and wanted to appear smart, I wouldn’t try and have an opinion until you are at least Junior Grade and allowed to have one” Captain Forester ordered.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. The Five Most Dangerous Things to Hear in the U.S. Army (in no particular order):

        A private* saying “I learned this in basic training….”
        A second lieutenant saying “Based on my military experience…”
        A sergeant saying “Sir, you really don’t want to know…”
        A captain saying “You know, I was just thinking…”
        A chief warrant officer saying “Watch this $#!+…”

        *This one can be replaced with “A Defense Language Institute graduate** saying ‘I think I remember how to do this from basic training….'”

        **Some language courses at DLI are over a year long.

        Liked by 1 person

  15. Someone was coming down the corridor.

    The hilt of the knife in her hands was warm, welcoming. Its blade glittered strangely as the red and gold fires of sunset streamed through the arched windows into her bedchamber.

    Uncle had said he would visit later. Even a princess had no right to turn the king away from her door. The marks left on her back throbbed in time with the footsteps outside.

    Valda stared at the blade. Gripped the hilt. The fading light struck her mirror and flashed into her eyes, nearly blinding her. Drops of color danced in the air around her, dreamlike. Bewildering.

    Red spots dripped along the blade of the dagger. They weren’t real yet. But they could be.

    The question was, whose?

    Evalda, Uncle had called her earlier. (Not Father, never Father, no matter that he was now married to the Queen.) It had a meaning, something like life, or eternity. There would be such beautiful irony in that if she…

    But her name was Valda. Father had told her what it meant, while he still lived. Battle maiden, heroine warrior. In the end, it was no decision at all. She stepped to the side of the door. Breathed. The footsteps stopped.

    The door swung open. She lunged, blade angled towards his chest –

    Dark hair? Uncle’s hair was red.

    Oh. The advisor.

    For an instant, she wondered whether to regret his death or not. Uncle’s longest lasting royal advisor reminded her of a weasel, but she had no real reason to hate him. She didn’t even remember his name.

    Then his arm swung up in a blur, caught hers at the wrist, and he stepped around her, kicking the door shut behind him in the same motion. Her arm twinged sharply as it was twisted backwards, and her back shouted protests as well.

    “Not terribly smart, Your Highness,” he hummed into her ear. “What if I’d been the king?”

    He released his hold and she whirled to face him, the dagger still in her hand. Silence held for a few moments as she glared, not quite certain what else to do.

    A cold glimmer of intelligence showed in his dark eyes. “Ah.” Turning away from her, he dropped a jar of something on the nearest table before walking to the windows overlooking the gardens.

    “A messenger arrived from the eastern forests. Your brother sends his regrets, but his progress has been delayed even further. He does not expect to return before the spring.”

    Two years ago, the words would have struck like a hammer. Last year, they would still have ached. Now, the brief sting of sorrow faded quickly, replaced by something like relief. If she was treated as she was, how would Uncle react to a potential rival? Upon his passing, the crown would fall to Hagan.

    A lesser man might seek to speed that passing. Or even just a man more politically astute. And Uncle would expect it of him.

    Far better absent than dead.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. This advisor seems to be a strange “person”.

      He appears to be able to take the blade from her but doesn’t.

      And just what is in that jar?

      Like

      1. not-quite-evil chuckles

        If I find the time, I’ll throw together a followup tomorrow, hopefully answering at least one of those topics. I’m glad you found it intriguing!

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Her gaze fell from the advisor to the jar still resting on the table. His back was turned towards her, and he seemed inclined to ignore her presence entirely, but she kept an eye on him all the same as she looked over what he’d brought. It was surprisingly simple for something brought into the royal palace, a vaguely misshapen pot of clay.

      A thought occurred to her, and she looked up to him again. “Did you expect to be attacked, advisor? Or are your reflexes so swift?”

      “I always expect to be attacked, Highness.” He turned from the windows then, but still only faced her halfway. “Why do you think I’m still alive?”

      The dying sunlight threw unsettling shadows over an already unhealthily pale face. It was perhaps the best reason she asked what she did, the words falling out of her mouth as if by accident:

      “Are you human?”

      A surprised exhale; quiet laughter. “Last I checked. Though it’s not the first time I’ve heard that question.”

      The knife was still in her hand, a reassuring weight. Why had he not tried to take it? “What have you brought me?”

      “See for yourself.” He nodded towards the jar, his gaze flickering back to the horizon.

      She lifted the lid. A pale golden cream filled it nearly to the brim, with seeds and shreds of fruit skin scattered throughout. Sight alone might have been enough to recognize it, but the scent was unmistakable. Citrus and pine sap, crisp and clear, and the more subtle scent of wind off the ocean. She breathed in deeply, the sting in her back already seeming to soothe.

      It took her a moment to notice the smile tugging at her lips, but far less time to smother it. “This is Neirian healing balm.”

      “Your brother sent a gift. Some small apology for his prolonged absence.”

      Her knuckles went nearly white around the knife, and the lid of the jar fell back into place with a sharp click. “My brother would not send me this.”

      Again, a soft laugh from the now silhouetted figure. “You are the sharp one. But why wouldn’t he?”

      “Why did you lie?” she countered.

      “Answer mine, and I shall answer yours.”

      Silence held. She breathed in the scent again, still hanging in the air. Then she spoke, her voice cool and even. “If he thought for one moment that it might be necessary? Then he would be home, with me, risks be hanged.”

      He hummed thoughtfully, an oddly musical progression. “I did not lie.”

      She moved to protest, but he continued unabated. “Your brother did send a gift. Several, in fact. They shall be delivered to you shortly. That –” he nodded towards the jar, “– is from me. An olive branch, as it were.”

      “If it was meant as such, why not say so openly?”

      “An evil advisor is not supposed to show compassion, even as a means to an end.”

      She found herself lost for words. He turned from the windows and strode across the room, taking full advantage of her bafflement.

      He paused at the door, and spoke: “His Majesty sends his regrets, but he finds himself unexpectedly weary, and will be retiring for the evening. Shall I bear him your similar regrets?”

      Now her words returned to her. “Do bring him my well wishes, and tell him I hope his weariness leads to a better end than my father’s. Good night, advisor.”

      “Good night, Highness.” The shadow slipped through the door, and was gone.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. One hallmark of an “evil advisor” is that he wouldn’t call himself one. :wink:

        On the other hand, an “evil advisor” might acknowledge that somebody else might consider him one. :grin:

        On the gripping hand, it seems convenient for the “evil” King to be unexpectedly weary. Perhaps, the advisor for his own reasons arranged that. :wink:

        Like

        1. That line may be a little on the nose, yes. Although his appearance kind of locks him into the role enough that it would be wasted effort trying to convince anyone otherwise. Unhealthily pale skin, lanky black hair, dark eyes, and the inability to grow any facial hair anymore? Everyone is uneasy around him, apart from the king, who’s mostly just entertained. (There are reasons for the pale skin and lack of facial hair. They shall remain undisclosed at this time.)

          As for the king – why do you lay such troubles on an already troubled man? I’m sure he’s fine. He’s got tasters after all, so he certainly hasn’t been poisoned, and I can’t think of any other reason he might suddenly be falling ill.

          Like

          1. LOL :lol:

            I can “imagine” ways that he could suddenly get ill even with tasters. :evil:

            Like

  16. “It will look more clever to not admit us,” said Liam, his voice low, watching the messenger.
    “Then we will have to summon the army quickly,” said Rosaleen. “Let us hope we have a fool.”
    The gates started to open.
    “Or a man weary of the war, perhaps,” she mused.

    Like

  17. And then both smoke and dust were blasted every way at once as wind swept through, bearing a cloud that hid the prisoner from sight for a minute.
    Then, slowly it fell down. One knight began to damp it down with water, and revealed that the prisoner was utterly gone.

    Like

  18. “But Captain,” protested the rookie cop, “it’s an open and shut case of breaking and entering. Caught the perp with a full bag of Christmas presents he stole right there in the house!”

    There was a long pause as the captain pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed. “First, there is one exception to the law, and you caught him. And second–” the captain pointed at the rookie’s empty cruiser. Well, almost empty. There was a wrapped present in the driver’s seat, but no prisoner. “You’re lucky you didn’t wind up on ‘the list’ for this stunt.”

    Liked by 1 person

  20. “Who the hell signed this invoice ‘Moo’?”
    “That’d be Ox.”
    “Ox?”
    “Yeah.. oh, here he is.”
    “Oh.. wait.. ain’t you smart!”
    “No, ox not smart.”
    “Smarter than too many.”
    “That their problem.”

    Like

  22. “Now to the Lord sing praises
    All you within this place
    And with true love and brotherhood
    Each other now embrace
    This holy tide of Christmas
    All other doth deface

    O tidings of comfort and joy
    Comfort and joy
    O tidings of comfort and joy”

    Merry Christmas

    Liked by 1 person

  25. My wife, youngest daughter, and I breakfasted at a diner near McGuire AFB this morning. A little later on, we’re due to visit middle daughter and her husband at his folks’ house. Merry Christmas everyone!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. we’re due to visit middle daughter and her husband at his folks’ house.
      …………………………..

      This is how I grew up. Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Easter, were always a blend of both mom’s and dad’s family, whomever could make it that year. Initially at paternal grandmothers, then the second oldest daughter’s, then finally, our family home, depending on logistics. Just a larger family (by the time counted grandma’s extended family, by far larger) enfolding a smaller family. Quite a wake up call when I got married and we had to swap holidays every year. (“What? Hubby’s parents and siblings families can’t just come to my parents for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter? There is only 10 more.” My family was up to 60-ish, each holiday.)

      Things have changed now, since both sets of my grandparents, and his parents have died, the family holiday gatherings aren’t as near as big. Even with my sister’s and myself as our children headed out into the world with their own families and obligations to significant others, children, step children, and distances.

      Merry Christmas.

      Liked by 1 person

  27. “The penalties for lying to the government are severe.”

    “Well, yeah. Of course.”

    “So, then, why are there no penalties when the government lies to us?”

    “Uhhh…”

    “That seems to me much the more serious offense. The government does far more damage by lying to us than any of us could ever do by lying to them.”

    “–” (speechless)

    “Anybody that lies to you is your enemy. Why are none of you smart enough to realize that?”

    Like

    1. :pushes glasses up nose:
      Lying is the act of an individual, not of an organization.
      And there are consequences for knowing promoting false information to which people have a legal right.

      Unsurprisingly, the folks who get the most mileage out of the equivocation, are the ones concealing information to which you have a legal right.

      Like

      1. When most (or all) of the individuals in an organization promulgate the same lies, that’s a problem of the organization, not just the individuals. If there were only a few liars, and their lies were corrected by others in the organization, that would be a different matter. That is not the case.

        The government (and the individuals is it comprised of) lies to us constantly, about everything. They have made themselves our enemies.

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        1. Bullshit.

          The word lie has an actual meaning. That is why the accusation of A LIE hits, at all, and the attempt to conflate it with saying something untrue– or even that someone happens to not agree with– is evil.

          That kind of equivocation is, in itself, a lie.

          And the folks who say they are fighting lies by lying to you are not your friends.

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          1. Lie: a statement that is not true.

            Willful lie: a statement that the speaker knows is not true.

            So, you’re saying the government is not lying to us?

            Because repeating somebody else’s lies does not make them innocent.

            What alternate dimension are you living in?

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            1. This is Christmas Day and is not the time to get into a political spat.

              So both you and Foxfier should drop this argument.

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            2. Lie: a statement that is not true.

              That is a lie, specifically by redefinition.

              Actual meaning, and why the accusation gets thrown around:

              https://www.etymonline.com/word/lie
              lie (v.1)
              “speak falsely, tell an untruth for the purpose of misleading,” Middle English lien, from Old English legan, ligan, earlier leogan “deceive, belie, betray” (class II strong verb; past tense leag, past participle logen), from Proto-Germanic *leuganan (source also of Old Norse ljuga, Danish lyve, Old Frisian liaga, Old Saxon and Old High German liogan, German lügen, Gothic liugan), a word of uncertain etymology, with possible cognates in Old Church Slavonic lugati, Russian luigatĭ; not found in Latin, Greek, or Sanskrit. Emphatic lie through (one’s) teeth is from 1940s.

              There are two major reasons to redefine the word lie; to falsely accuse someone of lying, and to lessen the value of recognizing deliberate falsehood offered to mislead.

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          2. Okay, it’s not Christmas any more, and I’ve got one last point to bring up.

            When you repeat a lie, you contribute to propagating and reinforcing that lie. Even if you are not aware it’s a lie. Indeed, if you innocently repeat a lie because you believe it, you will be much more effective at spreading the lie and convincing others.

            Of course, those that made up the lie are ultimately to blame, but you have to bear some responsibility for your own actions which wind up supporting it. Even though you didn’t mean to.

            Lies are destructive, and we must constantly fight against them. Question what we are told, before repeating it. Call out lies, or even innocent mistakes, when we find them. Any untrue statement which is allowed to pass unchallenged misleads people, and can influence their actions in negative ways.

            Lies may not be ‘the root of all evil’ but they certainly enable most of the evil in the world.

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            1. When you repeat a lie, you contribute to propagating and reinforcing that lie.

              Which is not the same as lying.

              It can be many things, ranging from innocent to quite bad, but it is still not lying.

              And claiming that those who are not lying, are lying, is a lie.

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              1. Which is not the same as lying.

                –
                The effect is the same. Or worse, because by repeating the lie ‘honestly’, you are more convincing.

                It is not a lie to say that somebody is repeating a lie, and to point out the damage they’re causing.

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                1. The effect– or what you think the effect will be, which is an entirely different matter– is irrelevant to the facts of the matter.

                  And the facts of the matter are that lying is lying, not “says something Imaginos doesn’t want said.”

                  Claiming someone is lying when you know they are not “knowingly stating a falsehood for the purpose of misleading” is, in itself, lying.

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                  1. I was never talking about ‘what [whoever] does not want to hear’. I’m talking about statements which are demonstrably, provably, factually wrong. Like ‘Jeffrey Epstein totally committed suicide’ or ‘Trump colluded with Putin to steal the 2016 election’ or ‘Trump led an Insurrection! on January 6th 2021’ wrong. False statements which cause real damage to our society when repeated.

                    And it doesn’t matter who repeats them, or why, they are still lies.

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                    1. You started out with a bit of dialog about government lying to people.
                      On it being pointed out that individuals lie, that knowingly promoting false information to those who have a legal right to the truth does have legal consequences, and that equivocating on the meaning of “lie” is itself a lie, you proceeded to demonstrate that you really want lie to mean something it, objectively, does not.

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                    1. Again.

                      The word “lie” has a specific meaning; to state an untruth with the intent to mislead.

                      If you want to insist that folks are lying because of the results of what they say, or because they are associated with an organization that has said something you don’t believe in, or any of the various other shifts you’ve attempted– then you are saying something that is not true. With the intent to make people believe someone is lying, when they have not spoken untruth with the intent to mislead.

                      That is, YOU are lying.

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  31. Her hand whipped like lightning, her open hand slapping him solidly across the face.
    “Ouch, that’s gotta smart,” winced his wingman from a small cluster of observers across the room. “She’s really fast too, normally Jimmy’s pretty good at ducking.”
    “That’s the only smart thing about Jimmy – If he was actually even a small amount smart he wouldn’t have ghosted her for the past two weeks,” said one of the women in the small group.
    “Well, at least he knows she used to be interested. Now let’s see if she still is.”

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