Election Day

So here's one of the few politically-relevant posts you'll get from me.

I hope, if you live in the US, that you head out to vote today. I also hope that you haven't gotten so psyched over the presidential election that you've ignored your local races and local issues. Often, it's the local stuff that can really be influenced by a few determined voters; also, often, it's the local issues that are really going to affect your life more. I understand that 2008 is a big year for the presidency, but I've spent just as much time (if not more) looking into what's on the plate for Ohio / Cleveland / Akron, because those are the things that are directly going to affect me.

I kind of want to say that if you actually can't name your Congressmen and your Senators, if you can't tell me what issues are on your ballot, then you have absolutely no right to be pretending you care about the presidential election. But that's probably the kind of statement that bothers me most about politics: "If you don't believe in / support X, you are an idiot and you do not deserve Y."

Judgements like that pretty much offend me uncategorically, whether they're about politics, or religion, or academia, or -- or about cars or shoes. This election all-around has been pretty disappointing to me, mainly because of the sheer amount of judgemental superiority I've been seeing from both sides. Not just from the campaigns -- from their supporters, people at work or in school or on LJ who feel like they have the moral high ground because of one choice or another. I'm really sick of the attitude that there is a right and a wrong on so many of the issues we're dealing with today; often, it isn't that clear-cut.

This is why I've been staying out of the political realm. Because even if I agree with you completely, if you try to present your beliefs as the One True Path, you're likely to offend me with that.

But that's neither here nor there.

We have a great chance to get out there and change things about our country today, guys, from small things to big things. Let's do it.

And on that note, I'll end it with this:

Bush: 'Can I Stop Being President Now?'

And a game: Caption This Icon With A Cock Joke Or An "In Your Pants" Joke Plz



Happy Election Day to all.

NaNo Update

For anyone reading this who isn't aware yet, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Basically, the goal is to write 50,000 words in a month. The novel does not have to be good. It does not even have to be edited. The only stipulation is 50,000 words in the month of November.

Hopefully that explains some of the confusion?

6,765 / 50,000 (13.5%)

Day: 4 / 22

Word Count: 6,765 / 50,000 (13.5%)
Outline Quality: At this point? Pretty much discarded and nonexistent.

Progress: Promising!
I Am Still: 2300 words behind where I should be, with my 8-day handicap.
I Should Be At: ~9000 words
I Am: Not screwed just yet!

Scene Worked On Most Recently: "Visit From a Nightmare"
Scene to be Worked On Next: "Aura"
"Research" of the Day: basically thinking up what a half-Nightmare might look like
Quote Excerpt of the Day:

"First of all," Klima said, his dark eyes sparkling with amusement as he looked at me, "your cousin is going on pilgrimage."

The words took a little bit to sink in at first, because Tirana wasn't really my cousin: we were related, through blood, but faintly, through a great-aunt and a half-sister somewhere back in our family line. I'd only met Tirana once, and it wasn't a happy memory. My doctors in Neinde had gone through a phase wondering whether a family member would be able to care for me better than a halfbreed, and they'd dug up Tirana's family as an excellent prospect; they were already dealing with one magical child, why not another? But Tirana had been born an elementalist, which was at least a noble calling, while I'd turned into a raving, crazy teenager with too much magic that wasn't useful enough. Tirana's family had come to the city, but her parents had taken one look at me and refused, pleading with the doctors that one magically fated child was enough for any family.

Novel I (Still) Think I'm Unconsciously Channeling In Terms Of Style And Exposition: Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
Things I Am Discovering About My Writing: Writing in first-person is hard!!

Character Quickly Developing His Own Quirky Personality: Klima
Klima Is: hotter than I thought he would be
Enna Is: the least snarky lead character I've ever dealt with
Lyde the Cat Has: shown up in more scenes than anyone

Best Thing I've Been Able To Meta With Today: elementalism, and the development of aura magic

Today's Goal: Write like mad tonight with wine while waiting for election results. I'd like to catch up to the 9000 words I should have (if I want any chance of finishing this thing in 22 days...)