A family weekend of book signings: Gone from These Woods

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It's a big family weekend here as my niece, Donny Bailey Seagraves, enjoys her first Borders book signing, plus a hometown celebration thrown for the release of her book Gone from These Woods, a middle-grade reader for the 9 - 12 age group.

Since I pre-ordered my copy from Amazon it has yet to arrive, but the early reviews are excellent concerning this gripping story of a young boy who must face the kind of loss that we all must face at one time or another in our lives.

Donny has been a published writer for years but Gone from These Woods is her first novel and is published by Random House, so do check it out!

Yes, we're very proud of Donny, but just to keep her head from over-swelling, here's a private view from the late 1950s of Donny with her brother Mike sittin' on the sofa - without a manuscript or editing thought in her head!



Visit Donny's blog Winterville Writer where she'll be featuring other authors, too, as well as updates about her own work.

Congratulations, June Bug!

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Updating 'Blog Art': Helga Prepares 2 Dance

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Just to let you know that an icon cropped from one of my drawings (a brand new rendering, in fact) is now placed in Two Hours' sidebar in lieu of Perry Presenting which was there. 'Perry' has left the building.

In her place, my wish is to update a small image in this blog's sidebar column once a month (or more often if time permits) so that One Click on the image will take you to view the full image.

Not all drawings will be from Cosmic Persona Designs, a collection intended for those art viewers 17 years of age and older due to its saucy Boudoir Blossoms and Chiffonery Art imprints; some images will be from other Art Blogs as the mood inspires, and since I have Moon~Cosmic~Fairy~ Children's~Botanical~Fish Portrait collections to pick from, I'm fairly certain that variety shall ensue.

So please scroll a little and Click to View because at the moment, Helga Prepares 2 Dance awaits you! You do dance, don't you?

Update 9.7.09: Don't Scroll to view Helga!

Unless you want to see a different image there now...here's a direct link to Helga Prepares 2 Dance if you want to check out her moves...

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Thomas Paine on punishment and oppression

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"An avidity to punish is always dangerous to liberty. It leads men to stretch, to misinterpret, and to misapply even the best of laws. He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself."

Thomas Paine

You know that June 8th of this year was the 200th anniversary of Thomas Paine's death, so click the article's link where you'll be hooked up to the text of Common Sense, in case you'd like to refresh yourself

There's a smidge of Astrology, too.

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Critiques of Scotland over prison release of Lockerbie bomber

Assuming that it's not a case of a wrongful conviction finally righted as I've read here and there, criticism of Scotland's recent release from prison of the only man incarcerated for the 1988 airplane sabotage of Pan Am Flight 103 that killed 270 people over Lockerbie, Scotland has their Braveheartiest hackles up to defend the Scottish justice system which is seemingly more merciful than the US justice system.

Given the harshness of overcrowding and other problems in US prisons, this I can believe, and yet...

Do you think sending the cancer patient home to Libya to die sends a cozy message to terroists everywhere, as characterized in, and promoted by, the media and FBI Director Robert Mueller? Considering the low level of trust in the US gov by the people, one must wonder if they are afraid the man will be given a soapbox on which to speak out.

Now the BBC has picked up Admiral Mike Mullen on CNN chiming in with a 'political decision' critique.

And here are some 'secret oil deal' accusations turning up after Gaddafi's son let the cat out of the trade bag to roam free as...as a caged bird released from prison and ready to sing.

And do you think, as discussed on Stars Over Washington in Comments by Scottish astrologer Anne Whitaker and myself, that the practice of compassionate early release of terminally or seriously ill inmates may be cynically viewed as a cost-saving measure thinly disguised as humanitarian gesture?

Yeah. That's what I thought. It seems to be another of the chaos-creators' and shock-doctrinaires' attempts to undermine yet one more of the world's governmental systems that has worked reasonably well for generations.

Those dang'd Utopians - always on the verge of sending mankind back to the garden from whence he came so he can wander about, scratching and grubbing for meager existence! Tsk tsk.

And with Halloween on the way, we may wish to recognize one of Utopia's many guises: a one-world-government. And it won't be as fun as it sounds.

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You may wish to read a few brief details on Pluto's current triggering of the Lockerbie Bombing chart's Sun and Uranus.

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How's your supply of Health and Wellness?

It's been simply eons that I spent time on the Associated Content website where I've been known to write a little, but have not since Garfield was president (practically.) Not that Garfield. The other one.

Well, I just returned from a brief sojourn with AC and my browser carrying a link for you. It's an article by Laura Brady concerning Health and Wellness which you may find very useful.

And one of the best things about Ms. Brady's article is that it makes absolutely no mention of health care reform or the current deform we're limping along with now.

So go along and check it out, for who can ever have enough health and wellness?

And as a wise man once said, Consider the spine.

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image: a pencil portrait of Self-Heal, moseyed over from Secret Moon Art if you're in the mood for more visuals of the Botanical, Fairy, Moon, Cosmic, and Children's varieties of artwork...all pencil, all the time. Followers heartily and publicly welcomed! jc

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Wedding Day Astrology: Gwyneth Paltrow m. Chris Martin

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Continuing my 'Wedding Day Astrology' series, I have just posted an entry on the 2003 wedding and the partnership of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin of Coldplay, if you'd like a not-too-naughty astrological peek into their relationship dynamics.

And how about a cool video from Coldplay's Viva la Vida tour from a few nights ago?

Herning 16.8.09 from Coldplay on Vimeo.

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Update 9.7.09: having just discovered a fascinating blog with two Coldplay videos, I add its link here primarily because it asks a intriguing question: Is Coldplay Illuminated?, a reference to the theme of their latest album - the Masonic-Illuminati-engineered French Revolution, and to song lyrics which are supplied there if you don't know them already.

When I Ruled the World, hmm?

One of my favorite tunes but until now, I actually assumed he was saying, 'For some reason I can't explain, I know St. Peter will call my name.' But Mr. Martin says, '...St. Peter won't call my name.' Double hmm.

If Mr. Martin and perhaps other members of Coldplay are 'illuminated' we might think that talented people who mind their rituals and spells are raised to the pentacled heights of fame, stardom, and wealth - which could explain why other very talented performers barely get the time of day while they're being shooed out the door.

And this makes it a modern-day version of selling one's soul to lucifer in exchange for world tours full of adoring audiences, and a well-stocked limo waiting at the curb for your exalted self.

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Astrologer Lynn Hayes on Health Care Reform

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In 2005, when I first began blogging on Politics reflected through the lens of Astrology, one of my very first online Astrology friends was the gracious and expert astrologer, Lynn Hayes.

Well, now I'm posting this shout-out to Lynn's article of August 19, We need real healthcare reform not more insurance, a sentiment I share, and one which would seem to be a given, now wouldn't it?

At least a 'given' in a normal world with less political opportunism and a ban on the cynical use of people's easily swayed emotions, that is.




Image is an illustration of 'Jimson weed in bloom' from an Associated Content article on avoiding the Deadly Nightshades in your diet, which is a very good thing to do if you're sensitive to them.

If you have any itchy skin conditions or your tummy grumbles against you, you may wish to check out the possibility that regular nightshade consumption may be part of the problem. That's a valuable health hint from me to you, if you'll take it!

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Pea Flowers in Moonlight: a pencil portrait

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Pea flowers don't cease to exist just because the sun goes down, y'know...

Pea Flowers in Moonlight, by Jude Cowell 2009+, from my Secret Moon Art Blog, now updated for your satisfaction!

Plus, my Art Storefront hosted by Lulu is also available for browsing.

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