Maybe it's time ...

I've been thinking about this for some time. Gun advocates worship the second amendment like it is their religion. Believe me, it is a false God. Jesus said live by the sword, you will die by the sword (paraphrased from Matthew, but it also appears in Revelation). Guns pervade American society, and people say the only protection is to have a gun of your own, like having an armed guard at Newtown. Unfortunately, if your opponent's gun is drawn, it is already too late for you. It would be better if there were no (or fewer) guns altogether.

Maybe it is time to repeal or limit the second amendment. It basically gives us the right to bear arms to protect ourselves from tyranny.  At this point, what could a single gun do against today's government, and what good have they done in the past? The Civil War cost thousands of lives. That was the only relevant conflict on home soil. Congress could do it. The states could do it, but neither will. Gun advocates say we should protect the Constitution, but this is an amendment, folks, not something that was put into the original document. There are three ways to amend the constitution. We can do it, and the Supreme Court can do nothing about it. Unfortunately, the political will isn't there. Our representatives have been bought by the gun lobby.

OK, what are the alternatives?

Yes, ban assault weapons and high-capacity clips. They aren't needed for hunting, and are too big to effectively protect you from a home invasion. Are you going to leave it loaded beside your bed? I hope your kids don't find it.

Yes, make background checks more thorough and mandatory. That will stop a few potential murderers. Require them for all sales or transfers of weapons.

Here is one thing that I think would be more effective: license guns the same way you license cars and trucks. License (and re-license) every weapon individually EVERY YEAR and through every transfer. Like cars and trucks, make the cost reflect the firepower of the weapon. A single load/single shot weapon would cost the least, up to semi-automatic hand guns which would cost the most (banning the powerful high capacity weapons altogether, or give them a punitively high license fee). That would discourage the ownership of multiple weapons and deter people from amassing an arsenal. It would also alert the authorities to those who do purchase more than a few weapons. Just like a vehicle, a person would have to carry the license for each weapon with them when they are carrying a weapon.

What does this do? As I said, it 1) deters people from purchasing multiple weapons. It also 2) helps the authorities keep track of the location of weapons. According to the Chief of Police in Chicago, that is the single most critical problem. They don't know when weapons change hands. Of course, criminals will still flout that law, but it does 3) make owners responsible for the location of their weapons and what is done with them. If you lose a weapon (or if it is stolen) and don't report it, YOU are an accessory to crimes that are perpetrated with it. As it stands, the responsibility is solely with the perpetrators of the crime. Of course, it should be that way, but the blame should reside with the irresponsible owner as well. Theoretically, the police should be able to trace every weapon through its licensed owner.

This simple change doesn't conflict with the second amendment at all, and it could be an additional revenue stream for the stressed federal budget. It is probably something that should be devolved to the states, but it wouldn't work as well. The ban on assault weapons doesn't conflict with the right to bear arms, only the type of arms.

You could also limit the sales of ammunition, but that would be difficult to enforce.

Why has no one proposed this? It seems to me like a simple effective answer.

Sandworms of Dune

Sandworms of Dune by Brian Herbert
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The sad thing about this is that I sort of liked it. There were some stupid things, though. Did Frank Herbert really intend to bring all his characters back for a shoot-out at the OK Corral? Obviously, Murbella, Sheanna, and Idaho had to be there, but they were all accounted for in Chapterhouse. What is logical about bringing almost everyone back? Maybe Paul and Leto ... maybe ... just maybe ... but everyone? No.

The narrative was good, and there are several (sometimes predictable) plot twists, but the ending was a head-slapper. The story was mostly finished with 100 pages to go. In some ways it seemed like Frank Herbert sketched the story up to that point and the Bri and Kev decided on an easy solution. Frank never really took the easy route (except maybe to finish the first trilogy).

This ending was reminiscent of the movie (the original, not the expanded version that I haven't seen), where everything comes out fine and dandy at the end.

For the last 100 pages, I expected a Götterdämmerung ending, possibly where there is an emotive blood-bath of the main characters. No Kwisatz Haderach could really save the universe in an instant.

Unfortunately, that's what happened. Paul tells Duncan that he's the KH, and he says oh, maybe I am, and the magic Oracle comes and transports Omnius and the entire evermind into another dimension. Then Erasmus, who wields the real control submits to Duncan. But let's not forget the Face Dancers who are killed in an instant by some failsafe that Erasmus has hidden in their code - that's instant throughout the universe! Duncan shares with Erasmus, who decides it is time to leave this mortal coil, and everything is hunky-dory. Oh, and the epilog flits around the universe to give everyone the chance to put everything right and say goodbye to Herberts' loyal readership.

Did Bri and Kev lose their senses of tasted and decency? I was reasonably happy until the end, and then they blew it.

And now I've talked myself into lowering my rating to two stars, just because of the ending.


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Neither, nor...

This morning on NPR there was a big debate: Was Jesus a Republican or Democrat?

I'm sorry folks, but he was neither. Each side put forward subtle readings of difference, but if you actually read the Bible, it's loud and clear in many places, no more clear than in Acts:

All that believed were together, and had all things in common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. (Acts 2:44-45)

There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”). He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. (Acts 4:34-37)

There are more clear places, even in the Gospels. I'm not advocating Communism in America, but the message of the Bible is clear: that you must take care of those less fortunate than you. If it means Welfare, that's provided for in the Preamble of the Constitution. You should read that, too.

American Evangelicals are putting words into Jesus' mouth. Listen to what he said, not what you read to turn it to your own narrow putrid conservative agenda. His was a message of love and cooperation, not of vengeance and denial. That's Old Testament. Oh, I forgot, the Old Testament doesn't count unless it suits your purpose. The Evangelicals have become the new Pharisees, more holy than the God they worship ... the one they have made in their own image.

This Summer

I'm now moved in and have already taught for two weeks. Soon I'll be able to settle down and write ... well, hold on ...

I've been informed that this summer two of my arrangements will be premiered at Per Nørgård's 80th birthday concerts. Of course, that assumes that I finish one of them (don't worry, Michael). There is still lot's of time, and I'm working on it now. The other is Bach to the Future, which was supposed to be premiered last year, but was postponed due to a schedule conflict. So, it will be off to Copenhagen.

In the meantime, that will delay work on my piano concerto, but I'm still hoping to finish by the summer. The piece is about 60% there, and I've already arranged half of that. I just need to finish the arrangement, fill a hole in the middle and write the ending. Easy, right?

My other writing may have to wait. There are just too many things happening right now.

Moving day cometh

As I come ever closer to moving back to America, I've been struggling for inspiration. The past few days, I've spent some time on The White Room, trashing two scenes completely and adding another from Rebecca's POV that paraphrases (a little bit) the missing action. I'm still wondering if I should miss it altogether. There are a couple exchanges in the missing scene that I need, and I'm not sure how to bring it back in the new context.

I would really rather write something new, but I've got two novels that need rewrites and loads of unfinished work. I'd also like to write and send out some new short stories, but that will have to wait.

On Being Mortal

Life sucks sometimes,
dreaming, planning your future,
but it doesn’t work.
It’s not so easy.

You can’t have your cake,
much less eat it.
There is always something in the way,
or someone.

Grand designs die with a whimper.
You do what you can
with what you were given –
not much.

My lottery tickets never win,
the numbers never come up.
I have to work for it all now,
but I’ve grown lazy.

I wish I’d laid a foundation,
shook the right hands,
greased the right palms,
slept with the right ... men.

That was a hurdle too high for me;
my switch-hitting is limited to baseball.
Maybe I’d be famous now,
in certain circles.

If I’d practised hard,
where would I be now?
It’s prostitution
to get what you want.

I played safe, conventional;
no chances, me – play by the rules.
Don’t hurt, don’t get hurt.
Someone always does.

They say you are as old as you feel,
but who are they?
Young or blessed with a silver spoon.
Where are they?

I have things to be thankful for,
I know, but the tunnel is getting blacker.
I’m starting over
with no light at the end.

Yet I don’t give up,
it’s all still to play for;
I won’t have time to enjoy the prize,
if I ever win.

Grease those flaccid palms,
buy the ticket,
sleep with ...
no, still not that.

I’m still playing safe,
playing the long game,
but how long is that?
Not long enough.

Times, they are a-changin'

Isn't is sad when your largest referrer is a Russian bot? I haven't been that prolific as a blogger lately and it shows.

Things are changing. We are moving to Syracuse in January and I've been busy packing things up to ship out before the end of October. We'll have to be ready to teach and work as soon as possible when we arrive, so all our stuff has to be there.

That means that I have had to go through all the old computer equipment I've had sitting around, and decide what is usable and chuck out the rest. Of course, there is all the old nostalgia attached, like putting my first "super-computer" back together. "Super" meaning an Athlon 1333 RAID with as much RAM as I can cram into it. I'll need to use it for Score and then throw it out or sell it in December ... or possibly give it away.

It's almost like giving away your first born. I mean, it's old news now, and it can't even run Windows 7, but there is a certain bond that I have to break. A harder break will come when we take our first computer to the tip. It's a US MacPlus from 1987. JD and I gave it to each other as an engagement present instead of a ring. It seemed much more useful at the time. The keyboard is missing a key and the box hasn't even been turned on in at least a decade. It's useless, but it will be sad to see it go. Two more Macs are going, too. Our Powerbook is dead, and our Performa 630 won't run anything recent, and won't even connect to our network, being one of the last AppleTalk Macs. It is the last non-PowerPC Mac. Again, that makes it completely useless, except that it has JD's dissertation on it. Somehow, we need to retrieve it and put it on something that a PC can read, in a format that a PC can understand. (It was written in WriteNow, which I hope has an RTF export. Otherwise, it would probably be better to scan it ... over 1000 pages of heavily formatted text.)

As you might guess, not much writing is happening. Once all our stuff is gone, I might start going with my laptop again. We'll see how manic things are.