Mark Terry

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Random Musings In General

November 19, 2009
So. Just off the top o' my head.

Started to listen to Diane Riehms today on NPR and it was Julie Andrews and her daughter pushing latest book/collection of poems, etc. This is a particular pet peeve of mine, actually. I respect Julie Andrews' talent and career, but you're encroaching on my territory (books and writing) based on your known name. This annoys me. Whether it's Ilie Nastase and/or Martina Navratilova writing mysteries about tennis or Whoopie Goldberg writing children's books, I realize that their place in the book market and success there has little or nothing to do with their writing ability, which may or may not be considerable. How about you? Does that annoy you? Do you think actors get annoyed when rock musicians and/or models get film roles?

How much would you be willing to be taxed in order to get "free" universal healthcare? 5% more? 10% more?

We all play roles, don't we? Don't our characters? I was thinking about a very funny conversation (maybe you had to be there) my brother and sister and I had one day while we were tending to my father and mother when my father was going through at-home hospice. We were discussing how we have different roles. Beth was the "caregiver." I said I was the "crabby curmudgeon." My brother said he was the "cold, aloof academic." Then my sister wailed, "I don't like my role! I want a different role!" And we all started laughing. Do you think your characters know the roles they play and want out? Do you?

Oh, wow, I think I'll go do some work, a bunch of e-mails just came in.

Cheers,
Mark Terry

3 Comments:

Blogger Spy Scribbler said...

5%. If they want 10%, then they better show me some other cuts, (I can think of some billions I'd like back) or provide as good coverage as France has.

Other authors don't annoy me. I don't know why.

Teaching was a lot of role-playing. I had to be who the child needed me to be, mostly. It was sort of funny how each child could bring out a different person from me. It's like they took what they needed, which is great. I gave them all of me, but at the end of the day, I was practically catatonic. I could relax and be myself with the high-schoolers. Not with the parents. So yeah, I wanted out. I got out.

Now I'm just me. I even fart, sometimes. But just little ones.

3:07 PM  
Blogger Mary or Eric said...

Heck, 10% tax for free healthcare would be bargain compared to what I have to pay, plus no more hassles with the criminal insurance companies.

As for celebrity authors...yeah it sucks, as does our society's whole fixation on celebrity, but how angry can one be? It's just the way of our world.

1:30 PM  
Blogger Mark Terry said...

I actually think 10% is pretty reasonable, too, although I'd have to do the math to make sure. I'll have to run it by my friend who runs his own small company with 5 or 6 employees. We discussed it once and he said he'd "love to get that monkey off my back." He notes that the young single guys aren't too expensive, but the families are killers, especially if they have a pre-existing condition, which one of them does.

As for the celebrity authors, I'd say irritated, not angry.

2:18 PM  

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