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Nov. 25, 2006 It’s all over now but to officially confirm the word count. And according to the word counter listed on the http://www.nanowrimo.org NaNoWriMo website, there’s no way that I won’t walk away from this year’s competition a winner. For the third straight year, I have participated in this crazy, adrenaline-filled quest to churn out a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. The fact that I did it this again should be proof enough that I’m just as crazy as the challenge is. There won’t be any victory parades or awards given in my honor; I’m just happy that my brain hasn’t exploded. Once the final numbers are in, I’ll share them with you all here, as I have done the previous two years. This also means that my sabbatical from Useless-Knowledge is now over. And you now finally get to hear a few things that have been on my mind the last month or so. 1) The world has lost a number of influential and important people since I last posted here—author William Styron, 60 Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley, R & B singer Gerald Levert, Oscar-winning actor Jack Palance, and director Robert Altman among them. Of all these, I will miss Ed Bradley the most. I grew up watching Ed hold his own with reporters like Dan Rather, Leslie Stahl and Mike Wallace, as he brought stories to Sunday night with professionalism and in-depth knowledge. Ed had a style all his own, and as evidenced by the outpouring of praise after his death, he touched many people in different ways. 2) We’re coming up on Week 12 of the NFL season. The Washington Redskins are all but out of playoff contention now. I’ve determined that it’s a bad sign when I no longer get angry when my favorite sports team loses. The good news for UK readers, though, is that my playoff reports will begin next week, when the league slips into Week 13. 3) Unlike some folks out there, I’d love to see Michigan play Ohio State again this season. The first meeting, which Ohio State won 42-39, had all the makings of an instant modern classic. So you might only imagine what would happen if these two met again in metropolitan Phoenix. Having grown up in ACC territory, and being an alum of an ACC member institution, I really don’t care who wins, although I do have ties to both Big 10 schools. 4) As expected, the Democrats regained control of Congress. Although I am happy that Americans took time to hold their legislature accountable for what has happened in recent years, by voting out old hands and replacing them with new ones, the victors shouldn’t be doing any gloating just yet. There’s a lot to do, including figuring out the best way to withdraw from Iraq and protect our own borders. The fear is that the Democrats will try to stonewall President Bush’s programs and policies. That’s a normal fear, especially considering the programs and policies put forth during the first six years of Bush’s administration. But having the opposing party in power in the legislature is not a bad thing for America. Remember that the reason our government is divided into three branches is to ensure that it works properly. It worked when President Franklin Roosevelt tried to pack the Supreme Court with jurists to his liking. And it should work when seeking to end a war that went off the rails some time ago. 5) There are a few websites I’d like to plug right now. These sites have provided me with many hours of enjoyment and entertainment over the years: a. http://www.funtrivia.com FunTrivia.com bills itself as the world’s largest and oldest trivia website. The myriad of quizzes available on the site have been created by registered users—106 of them have been written by yours truly, as of the writing of this column—in a wide variety of categories. There’s no cost to set up an account, but new members cannot create begin creating quizzes until after they have completed and submitted at least 50 quizzes and have retained their account for two weeks. Gold membership, which costs $20 for six months or $38 for twelve months, offers a number of benefits over the free membership, including ad-free play, unlimited quiz tracking and scoring, and extended statistics. b. http://www.flashgameshows.com Flash Games2 is devoted to Flash versions of game-show end games. Among the games available are “Face the Dragon” (from Tic Tac Dough), “Big Numbers” (from High Rollers) and Money Cards (from Card Sharks). This is a great site for those who love game shows or for gamers who just like a change of pace in their routine. There is no fee to play these games. c. http://www.pageoclips.com Page-O-Clips allows users to view clips of classic game show moments. Snippets from enduring series like Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune can be seen side by side with clips from more obscure shows like The All New Treasure Hunt and Split Second. The clips are free to view, but donations are also encouraged. 6) And just in case you might have missed it, Michael Richards is a racist. His recent tirade during his standup act is not only despicable and reprehensible, it ranks right there in classlessness with Mel Gibson’s drunken anti-Semetic rant during a traffic stop and Barbra Streisand’s use of an F-bomb to deal with a heckler at Madison Square Garden. I have an idea of how he should apologize for his despicable behavior. He should be made to sit on the stage of Staples Center in Los Angeles and come face to face with the very people he insulted—African-Americans who were actually witness to the atrocities of racism, segregation and prejudice back in the old days. He should listen carefully to them as they tell about what they went through back then and what they’ve watched their children and grandchildren endure since. Maybe then, he’ll truly be sorry for what he said. If Michael Richards never makes another dime as an entertainer, it wouldn’t bother me at all. What would bother me, though, is that people would still cling to the contention that racism is not a problem in modern America. http://www.youtube.com Just go to YouTube and see for yourself what part of the problem is. ------------ About the author: Claxton Graham has written over 100 articles for Useless Knowledge. He has also written the unpublished novels The Writer's Nightmare and Santa's Sleigh Is Missing. He works as a business analyst. Email: scifiwriter8502@email.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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