On the appeal of short stories...

I read slow. Unlike my husband who can finish the last Harry Potter book by JK Rowling within a day, it took me close to a week to finish it before bedtime.

No matter, cuz I still like to read. Unlike my broad taste in different kinds and genres of movies, I go through phrases, where I would read only one genre over a period of time, then move on to the next. But detective stories and thrillers, and Edith Wharton/Jane Austen, remain my all-time favorites.

I have always like short stories as well. I like a story and writing that is crisp, sharp, and with a twist. A good short story always deliver that to me. I started out with A Twist In The Tale by Jeffrey Archer. While I might not have appreciated Archer the politician, I enjoy his writing and particularly his short stories which are crisp and whimsical.

Right now, I'm reading The Blue Religion, a collection of short stories related to law enforcement. It's another enjoyable read. With the exception of maybe just one or two of them, which sounds more like preaching than story-telling (eg. The Herald by Leslie Grass), I enjoy most every one of the stories immensely, each with its own twist.

Some people don't like short stories, since the author could hardly have enough space/time to build up characters, let alone telling a compelling story. For me, those challenges, if done right, make it all the more enjoyable than a verbose full-length fiction.

On the end to the primaries of Dem 2008...

I have pretty much stopped reading all the BS in the news, and of their glowing account of Obama. I don't really care if he gets the Dem nomination or not, because my mind is quite set. I don't care if the media keeps repeating the charge that he's reached the milestone, or the threshold, or whatever accounts they use. To me, Clinton is still the much stronger candidate. If Michigan and Florida had not jumped the gun, and got penalized for their delegate counts, Clinton would have won by now.

I want Hillary Clinton to be my nominee; and if Obama turns out to be the nominee, I'll vote McCain.

No doubt that Obama supporters would have ridiculed my attitude, for being irrational. Afterall, there's more similarities in Clinton's and Obama's policies (if you can call Obama's policies as "his own" policies) than with McCain's. But to me, it's a more personal decision. The more I look at it, the more I dislike Obama. At least I know McCain to be a man to hold him accountable for what he says and his actions. For Obama, he's the new teflon kid.

I'm sick to the bone, watching Obama in the news every freaking time. I hope he goes down bad, worse than McGovern. I hope he goes down in history that way.