Marlene Dotterer's Blog, page 4

Keeping Busy and Out of Trouble

I just finished a busy and interesting year as president of my writers club – the Mt. Diablo branch of the California Writers Club. I’ve been with this group for 7 or 8 years, and for the first few, I kept my head down. Not volunteering, not me, nope. I know what happens when you volunteer…

But my lovely and talented critique partners (you know who you are) were all members of the Tri-Valley branch, and they all held positions on the board. At various times one or the another of them was secr...

Why are Progressive Feminist Groups Banning People?

I found this incident at a lesbian march in Chicago to be very disturbing. If you can’t read the article because you don’t subscribe to the NYT, the gist is that organizers of a lesbian march kicked out a couple of women who carried flags with a Star of David. Evidently, the purpose of the march was for lesbians to celebrate their identities. These women identified as Jewish lesbians.

So many of us are more than one thing. In fact, we all are. Part of life is to deal with the struggle to bala...

A Cooking Post: Socca

I’ve found a new food that meets a lot of my criteria for Good Stuff to Eat.

Meet Socca, a crepe-like bread from Nice, France. The link I’m sharing is only one version of many on the web, and I’m not making any recommendations one way or another. Have fun and figure out your own favorite.

Here is my go-to version:

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This was my breakfast. Yes, I know you’re jealous.

As I said, there are many variations for this bread and some of them can require real effort, such as folding in beaten egg white...

From Marion Nestle: What Fruits and Vegetables do Americans Eat?

I almost linked this post straight to Facebook. I’ve been doing that too much lately, bypassing my own blog.

It’s either lack of sleep or plain laziness.

So here’s the link to Dr. Nestle’s post: http://www.foodpolitics.com/2017/05/w....

It’s an eye-opener. People, there are far more vegetables than tomatoes, corn, and potatoes. Oranges, apples, and bananas are NOT the only fruit in the world. For your own health… please branch out!...

Charles M. Blow: War as Political Weapon

From the NY Times: https://nyti.ms/2oQuaL8

Like everyone else, I reacted with rage and horror at another chemical attack in Syria. I felt desperate for action – this has got to stop. We need to do something.

I still feel that way. Part of me cheers the American attack. The rest of me is deeply suspicious of DT’s motives. He doesn’t give a damn about those “beautiful babies,” but this was great for distraction from serious investigations and for propping up ratings. And an even better excuse t...

Views from My Hotel Window

John Scalzi frequently posts photos of the view from his various hotel windows, and it’s one of my favorite categories of his blog. Travel is often about the highlights of a given place, but hotel windows do not always look out on the best a city has to offer. It’s like the difference between watching a high-end runway fashion show, and people-watching at the local mall. You see all kinds of things.

My recent trip involves a different kind of “hotel” and features views with a mix of the local...

A Guest Post: #Voice for the Voiceless, 1

For this post, I’m starting something different. There is someone I know whose life is a testament to struggle, bad choices, and pain. It is not pretty. It is not easy. But I want to give her a voice. So as often as she can write something, I’m going to post it here. These posts will always appear under the heading you see above: #Voice for the Voiceless.

I will not edit the posts unless she asks me to. This is her life and I don’t want my edits to add or detract from that. For her safety – a...

Healthcare: How to Get There from Here

This article, We all Want Healthcare to Cost Much Less – But We are Asking the Wrong Questions, by Joe Flower, is just about perfect in its analysis of the problem. I encourage everyone to read it.

I have always believed that we need health CARE, as opposed to health INSURANCE. This has led me to advocate for a single-payer system that does away with insurance companies. Mr. Flowers does not quite go there in his argument, but it’s not really his point, anyway. He goes a step further: how to...

Oh My, Look at the Time

I’m on the third night of Very Poor Sleep. I’ve been awake since 2:00, just like last night. Yes, I tried meditating, counting my slow, deep breaths, muscle relaxation, and pretty much anything else they claim is useful. I don’t drink coffee after 10:00 a.m. and I almost never drink alcohol anymore. I don’t/can’t nap during the day. I stay off of electronic devices after dinner and do gentle stretches and relaxation poses before bed. There is no TV in my bedroom. Yet in the middle of the nigh...

Keith Olbermann “The Crisis of our Lives”

Keith Olbermann is calling it like it is.

Donald Trump is insane. No one is safe.

The Resistance: This Man is Dangerous