There is something that has been bugging me for awhile now. My friend Monica touched on it in her blog the other day. How has the assumption evolved that we're all somehow required to post stories in the form most accessible to everyone? As if it's not enough that we've worked our brains out to offer up a story, but that somehow we are the ones duty bound to go the extra mile to make the story available to everyone? Shouldn't the reader do a little too? I mean he/she is the one getting something for free. No one should be made to read all fan fic. Should we then be required to provide free fan fic in a way to please everyone?

It seems too often that, shortly after posting something, the first thing writers get is a complaint about formatting or accessibility. I'm VERY grateful to all the kind people who read my stuff and comment, but it only takes one or two mopers to kill a mood.

Okay, rant off. We lost an old friend the other day. I hadn't seen Jonathan Sackler in years, but I enjoyed enough laughs in days of yore with Jonathan and his late wife Karen that I was very sad indeed to hear of his passing. He and Karen were some of the kinder, gentler people of the world. Karen died far too young but they were such a close couple, I wasn't terribly surprised to hear when Jonathan passed as well. At very least, they're beyond pain and problems. And just maybe they're onto the greater mystery.

Cool article on Obama's mama. Given that Obama has rendered the DLC obsolete (which is why he is hated by them) with his kitchen table money-raising operation, the article is especially timely. I had forgotten that Obama's mother was the originator of micro-financing. She helped inspire the system through which the US political system may well yet shake loose the tentacles of corporate control.

Here's a nice little picture of "Barry" Obama, his mom, little sister and grandfather.



Oh, some anti-slasher sniped at me on a board the other day, "If you're okay about writing slash why do you hide behind an obvious pen name?" When I told her the sad truth that Melody Clark is my actual, real, legal name, she Googled me and posted various other "startling" revelations about "me" garnered from melodyclark.com -- the only problem is THAT "Melody Clark" isn't me (that Melody Clark is a psychology writer -- I should mention there are several other people with my name on the web who aren't me either.) Some anti-slash people can't seem to grasp that some of us simply aren't ashamed of being human with hormone-filled bodies. We don't have to hide. I suggest they all come out into the light of day with the rest of the human race.

I forgot to add -- I'm not saying anyone who uses a pseudonym is "ashamed" -- I'm saying these jerks who keep trying to find "dirty secrets" about others are. They're among the reasons people use pseuds.