My Inner Author

Much has been made in the news the past few days about the pending budget cuts in the Leon County School System. Sadly, it appears the effects of these cuts may already be taking place. Apparently, the school can no longer afford e-mail or letters to parents. How do I know? Well, here you go. A member of the staff at Swift Creek Middle School solicited sex from a student of the school. When the student reported this to the administration, the person was removed from the grounds while the investigation continued. This happened on May 6th. Some 11 days later, when the investigation revealed sufficient evidence to arrest the perpetrator, the Leon County School Board terminated the staff member's employment. So far, so good. However, even as I type this note, over a week after his arrest on the charges of soliciting sex from a student, the school STILL has not notified the parents in any way. This honestly isn't even vaguely excusable. This isn't the CIA covering ...

Monday night at 9pm EDT Stargate Universe will end it's two year run on the SciFi Network. As the third Stargate series in the franchise, a fair number of fans also considered it the weakest of the Stargate shows. But they really missed out on a good show with some great stories in the making. Alas, the very reason I love the show, is likely the biggest reason it got canned: it is a darker show than most. Which is why I really did enjoy it. I love SciFi as a genre. It allows for such a wide canvas of story telling, but the shows and stories which really call to me are the darker ones. You can keep the Love Boat in space, we are all one big happy family in space stories. Some of those can be alright at times, but the real payoff in Science Fiction (indeed most genres) for me, is in the struggle to stay true to yourself, despite all the temptations and reasons to cross that line. Deep Space Nine remains my all-time favorite Trek show, and I loathed it in the first season an...

I have seen so many varied reactions since the news broke on Sunday evening that UBL (or OBL) had been killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan. In Philadelphia, the crowd watching an extra innings game between the Phillies and Mets began to get Tweets, texts and emails about the news. Spontaneously the crowd began chanting," USA! USA!" I am sure there were some very confused players on the field at that moment. Until, they heard the news, then the chills broke out. Outside the White House and in other key areas in several cities, parties broke out. People waved flags and danced in the streets. Surely some, in the quiet and privacy of their homes, cried. To those who lost loved ones on that horrific day of 9/11, perhaps it provided a sense of closure. For me personally, I did not dance. I did not cry. I simply prayed once again for those who have suffered as a result of the pure evil and hatred that man spewed forth into the world. I prayed for those who have spent year...