A photograph of my bed? Wow! A really firm mattress is possible! Thanks to delightful Sheryl Mandel for sending this ...Well, Sheryl, I am on the 7th of my nine lives, and if I were to pull out a book to read from that bed, I'd be lopsided...as usual! So I just try to sleep with my 18 year old (actually 90 in cat years!) cat who has saved me from doing away with myself for all of those 18 years. He is hanging on to life with all of his being. I should be so tenacious; he is my rock, and he never nibbles the corners of all of my books either. Day I read a book - I loved this review. Can you believe that I was enjoying this very sort of conversation basically with myself on Sunday? Regarding BUT HAVE YOU READ THE BOOK jazz, my mother ALWAYS asked that question. Guess what? She very seldom had actually read the books herself; I preferred to write my book reports based on the more enjoyable movie versions!But she sure loved to give that impression that she had read the books. Usually Harlequin Romance type stuff from the 50s. All the ladies sorta did that. Tickles me!People may claim to be reading - or that a book is "a good read" - but these days comic books are far preferable to the crazy crap available. And I am not condemning comic books, believe me. Lust, flying brooms, lords of rings, sci-fi lunacy, pulp fiction, religious zaniness, fluffy trends, recipes with lots of inane photos of food, survival bullsh*t, unreal realities...good grief...even I have pretended to read some of the unending stream of crap! Just to be nice!Dime novels or classic novels and cinematic treatments (via scripting) really are two different forms of media for sure and should be evaluated as such. My best example is. Now THERE IS A BOOK (and the movie sucked), a very intellectual book and the only kind I choose to bother with at my age. (Not too many of those being created these days either.)Ah, well, back to Tolstoy's; then I'll bookmark it and get some well-deserved sleep!Sometimes I feel the state of education/literature/culture, all the way around, is in the toilet. How does anybody ever get smart. In spite of it all I guess? I give up!Sadly, our state's education systemin the commode. "Governor" Pence and his cronies see to it that our superintendent of schools whom we elected (Democrat) is totally being stripped ... of her powers, that is! Outrageous.And, this just in, welcome to Salem, Massachusetts: Indiana Senate Backs Religion-Based Employment . Guessing that by now the KOCH BROTHERS have bought off our newly-elected Republican legislators and are fast becoming owners of the Hoosier State. What a pity! The Kochs think we are utter doofuses, and the Kochs only worship $$$$$$$$$$ and control. They are simply using God, folks...wise up!I can vaguely member that our state might have been kinda okay once, not monumentally so, but pretty decent. I am a patriot (Hoosier-iot?) to even give a damn. Come back to us, Indiana! KICK THE KOCHS OUTTA HERE!Then there is this chestnut: Indiana Senate approves bill making short-barrel shotguns legal . My pal Lorraine observes, "Hunting lobbyists are some of the strongest groups out there. Backed and supported by the NRA, and states' hunting laws are expanding all the time (I won't say anything about the 99% of legislators who are NRA card carrying members...)." Lorraine has nailed it here! May these screwballs disappear into the sunset one of these days really soon, too!Wondering why Hoosier lunacy is not yet being discussed by Rachel Maddow and Anderson Cooper and Jon Stewart? Our educational system being flushed down the toilet; the governor is a hand-maiden of the Kochs; total melt-down of an otherwise inconsequential state. Inconsequential though can be preferable to sinister and crooked.Honestly, CNN and MSNBC are missing the boat not discussing the idiocy going on in this backward state. We need national coverage...the state has gone brain-dead. Quite alarming!As further evidence of cultural decline, just look to such fun, family "sport" as pig-wrestling. My friend Sierra commented on this blog entry : "Pig-wrestling? And they fight to continue this? Jaw dropping with the knuckle draggers here. I would like to become a tornado, with my arms stretched out, spinning and slapping all these people, as i spin through the state. Wow, wouldn't that be fun? Swooooshhhhh - slap, slap, slap!"Right on, Sierra - yet, this farm propaganda (AGRIganda?) continues ...CANNOT believe what I read: "Welcome to the World of 'AGvocacy'"???? Well, bajillions of us are not "buying" into that concept. We humans need to stop consuming other species for breakfast, lunch and supper! And we should not be poisoned by Monsanto products - no more forever! And referring to dairy farming as an "industry" is very telling.Tragic for any sensible citizens who may still exist, and the other species that are four-footed or who fly or swim are also doomed. A few barons at the top are in charge and have one goal: profit for themselves. No question about it.Farm propaganda ("AGRIganda") can just take a flying leap! Now excuse me, while I go refresh myself with a frosty, delicious glass ofmilk, before retiring to my cat and my bed o' books.Drex Morton: "This was read is such fun and informative... I love the bed and the library photos...Wish the realities portrayed were mine... Wait - the book stacking IS me, much to my family's lament... And, thankfully, Harper Lee has reemerged just in time..."Kathy Bostwick: "Well written!!!!"Kelly Ross: "Love almond milk, no animals eaten here!"Paul Hoofard: "J' aime bien."Nancy Becker: "Susie, you are a wonderful fighter!!! I love your energy and commitment. Animals need a voice like yours so keep up the good work!!! I think that animal rights and the environment are two good issues to get worked up about. Important issues that deserve strong action. Counting on you to call it like it is!!!"________________________Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter and its follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels - print and ebook versions of both are available on Amazon (click the title).The books are also carried by these fine retailers: Ann Arbor's Bookbound and Common Language ; Columbia City's North Side Grille and Whitley County Historical Museum ; and Fort Wayne's The Bookmark And you can download from iTunes Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or Won't