The State of Funds... and Literature

Once I'm finished here, I'll be off to fill out my FAFSA. (Yes, I know that I'm ridiculously late.) But it always annoys me that you can be a poor married couple, make a combined income less than the poverty line, and still not receive jack from the government--though if some guy from the government named Jack showed up on my doorstep, I'd probably refuse him. I just find it rather annoying that it almost seems like you have to have more of an ethnic background for the government to even take notice.

I'll admit that I'm probably quite wrong on this matter and that the whole system is based on nothing but numbers, but I can't help but wonder that if my last name was something a bit less generic than Smith, I might get a few extra bucks from Uncle Sam's pocket.

The same goes for literature--or more precisely, The New Yorker. Granted, I enjoy the magazine, the fiction is almost always worth my time, but I've noticed a startling trend--and I'm not talking about how so many of the stories end with the word "home." Over this last year of my subscription, I've noticed that the majority of the author's that get published in that magazine are either already famous or have an ethnic background. True, famous writers are famous for one reason--which is mostly correct--they are really good friggin' authors. But, like the monies, I can't help but wonder if those with a name like Xing Chin or Jason Shawasha don't get an extra recommendation. Again, they are good stories--for the most part--and I can't really argue against their inclusion within the magazine. It's just something that got my brain a tumblin'.

In the end, I suppose any budding writer tries to come up with whatever reason they can to squash their bit of an ego and keep them from doing something crazy, like actually submitting their work. Ah well, one of these days, I just might have to scatter my marbles somewhere I won't find them and submit.

One of These Days...

Today was supposed to be gun day, where I would tell you all about my shooting adventures and put up some pretty pics of me and large weaponry, but due to weather conditions--a stupid tornado warning had me unplugging all of my technical equipment--I was not able to scan said pictures. (Yes, I am one of the few that is not in the digital age and still uses a film camera.)

In other news, a new comic was put up last night before all the raging winds tromped through town. I realize that the type is quite small and that it reads somewhat awkwardly, but until I find a good, solid way to do these things, I will continue to have these few bits to iron out. I'll make sure to download a few more good fonts from these folks. Maybe one of these days I'll finally get on top of everything and every single comic will be fantabulous...

Otherwise, I can knock off some more of the promised list, things like the Lady of Supreese. After I mentioned her, I realized it is one of those stories that you had to be there for, otherwise it just isn't funny. Instead, I'll just say that drawn on eyebrows can be a very bad, bad idea.

As for the readings--though I never changed my "Currently"--I read this book called The Resurrectionist by Jack O'Connell. I'd recommend it to any of those into comic books or Chuck Palahniuk. It doesn't have Palahniuk's energy, but the story's plot seems like something he might've written. As a warning though, it is one of those books that had to grow on me. I wasn't sure how I felt at the end, but after I kept thinking about it--a good sign for any book--I couldn't help but be impressed. So if you want a fast, fun read, I'd check it out.

My goal is to get a crapton done on my novel. I wanted to have a second draft done by my next residency, but I've got more than a hundred pages to sort through, not to mention the few major changes I need to clean up at the beginning of the thing... sigh... I need to start taking speed.