If we listened to our intellect, 
we'd never have a love affair. We'd 
never have a friendship. We'd never 
go into business, because we'd be 
cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've 
got to jump off cliffs all the time and 
build your wings on the way down.
   - Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury

August 22, 1920 – June 6, 2012

---

Chronology 
(includes story collections, novels, verse, plays)

1947 –	Dark Carnival
1950 –	The Martian Chronicles
1951 –	The Illustrated Man
1953 –	The Golden Apples of the Sun, Fahrenheit 451
1955 –	Switch on the Night, The October Country
1957 –	Dandelion Wine
1959 –	A Medicine for Melancholy (UK title, The Day it Rained Forever)
1962 –	Something Wicked This Way Comes; “R” is for Rocket
1963 –	The Anthem Sprinters and Other Antics
1964 –	The Machineries of Joy
1965 –	The Vintage Bradbury
1966 –	Twice 22; “S” is for Space
1969 –	I Sing the Body Electric!
1972 –	The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit and Other Plays; The Halloween Tree
1973 –	When Elephants Last in the Dooryard Bloomed
1975 –	Pillar of Fire and Other Plays
1976 –	Long After Midnight
1977 –	Where Robot Mice and Robot Men Run Round in Robot Towns
1978 –	The Mummies of Guanajuato
1979 –	This Attic Where the Meadow Greens
1980 –	The Last Circus & The Electrocution; The Stories of Ray Bradbury
1981 –	The Ghosts of Forever; The Haunted Computer and the Android Pope
1982 –	The Complete Poems of Ray Bradbury; The Love Affair
1983 –	Dinosaur Tales
1984 –	A Memory of Murder; Death is a Lonely Business
1987 –	Death Has Lost its Charm for Me; Ray Bradbury; Fever Dream
1988 –	The Toynbee Convector
1989 –	The Climate of Palettes; Zen in the Art of Writing
1990 –	A Graveyard for Lunatics
1991 –	Ray Bradbury on Stage; Yestermorrow
1992 –	Green Shadows, White Whale
1996 –	Quicker than the Eye
1997 –	Driving Blind; With Cat for Comforter; Dogs Think That Every Day is Christmas
1998 –	Ahmed and the Oblivion Machines
2001 –	A Chapbook for Burnt-Out Priests, Rabbis and Ministers; From the Dust Returned
2002 –	One More for the Road
2003 –	Bradbury Stories
2004 –	Let’s All Kill Constance; The Cat’s Pajamas
2005 –	Bradbury Speaks
2006 –	The Homecoming; Farewell Summer
2007 –	Now and Forever

When Bradbury turned 80 years old in 2000, he said, "The great fun in my life has been getting up every morning and rushing to the typewriter because some new idea has hit me. The feeling I have every day is very much the same as it was when I was twelve. In any event, here I am, eighty years old, feeling no different, full of a great sense of joy, and glad for the long life that has been allowed me. I have good plans for the next ten or twenty years, and I hope you'll come along."

I went along, Ray, and I have to say, it was a glorious, thrilling ride from beginning to end. You taught me a lot about life, and a lot about writing.

Excuse me. I’m going to have a glass of dandelion wine in Ray’s memory.
R.B.

“None so blind as those that will not see."
   - Matthew Henry, Presbyterian minister and writer

The war against women in the United States can’t continue without a few casualties. 

Among them, Jay Townsend, former spokesperson for Rep. Nan Hayworth (R-NY), who just this past week unleashed a nationwide firestorm of criticism when he wrote a Facebook comment that suggested an act of terrorism be perpetrated on female Democratic senators. A lot has been written about Mr. Townsend’s comment since he penned it, with thousands of people weighing in on what actions might be necessary as a result. On the Huffington Post, though, commenter “mtomasic” did a good job of laying out the timeline in response to the story:

1. Saturday, June 26 - "hurl some acid at those female democratic Senators who won’t abide the mandates they want to impose on the private sector."
2. Friday, June 1 - "Townsend issued the apology two days after Hayworth's campaign put out a statement calling the uproar over the comments a 'manufactured controversy.'
3. Sunday, June 3 - "I posted a stupid, thoughtless, and insensitive comment on a facebook page. It was stupid because my words were easily misconstrued; thoughtless because my choice of words obscured a point I was trying to make, and insensitive because some have interpreted the comment as advocating a violent act."
4. Monday, June 4 - "A statement from Hayworth's campaign was posted online. "Jay Townsend has offered, and I have accepted, his resignation from his position with my campaign," it read. "Now let’s return to talking about issues that really matter to families: job creation, spending restraint and economic development."
In summary, "hurl acid at female, Democratic Senators" is a manufactured controversy, that was stupid, thoughtless and insensitive, but didn't cost him his job, nor was it serious until ten days later - now let's return to the issues - stupid, thoughtless, insensitive female, Democratic Senators.

There are a few things that bother me about this whole “manufactured controversy.” 

First, since when does an opthalmologist (Hayworth’s actual profession when she’s not busy being a Tea Party tool), stand for talk about an act that usually blinds its victims? You’d think that with her education and training in the field, she’d have been outraged even by the mere suggestion of “hurling acid” at anyone, knowing what the outcome could be, wouldn’t you?

Second, why wasn’t Jay Townsend immediately arrested by federal officers after the offending comment came to light? According to Cornell’s Law School, statute 18 USC 115 prohibits anyone from threatening an elected official with physical harm over a political disagreement. The statute reads: “Whoever— … (B) threatens to assault, kidnap, or murder, a United States official, a United States judge, a Federal law enforcement officer, or an official whose killing would be a crime under such section, with intent to impede, intimidate, or interfere with such official, judge, or law enforcement officer while engaged in the performance of official duties, or with intent to retaliate against such official, judge, or law enforcement officer on account of the performance of official duties, shall be punished…” Can it get any clearer? Last I knew, female Democratic senators were United States officials.

Third, who actually believes that Townsend’s apology is genuine? When apologies get made, they typically don’t make excuses. The purpose of an apology is to exhibit contrition and remorse -- as in, say, “I’m sorry for what I did, and I beg your forgiveness.” Instead, Townsend serves up a tasty mash of, “I was stupid (because you’re not smart enough to understand what I wrote); "I was thoughtless" (because I’m not smart enough to stay focused on what I was trying to say instead of grand-standing); "I was insensitive" (because some of you are too literal-minded).”

Worse, he never actually manages to cough up an apology to the female Democratic senators, in whose faces said putative acid would be hurled.

And fourth, does it bother anyone besides me that Hayworth didn’t fire Townsend’s sorry behind the minute she read those offending, hateful words of his? In fact, Townsend remained on the payroll for ten, TEN, days after this came to light. In the end, Hayworth didn’t fire him, either – he resigned, and she accepted his resignation.

Hayworth has now asked her constituents and critics to set the matter aside, and “get back to the business” of paying attention to what’s important. Forgive me, but at this point, I don’t thing there is anything more important than clearing the halls of Congress of every person who exhibits traits of misogyny or endorses hate crimes.

It's up to us, the mothers, daughters, sisters and friends of the women in this nation, to spread the word – and vote them out. These people are not the “lesser” evil, believe me.

Excuse me. I have to take a hard look with clear, unburned eyes at all the people who are likely to show up on November’s ballot. I hope you will, too.

R.B.

No person in the world ever lost 
anything by being nice to me.
    - Lillie Langtry

What has happened to good manners? Yesterday, I responded with a private email to an online advertisement that offered a free item. I expressed my desire to take ownership, and asked for the address of where I might pick it up. I began with, "I read your post. May I please...," made my request, and ended with, "Thank you."

The free item in question was nice, so I've no doubt other people inquired after it, too. This morning, I checked my email for a reply. Nothing. I went to the website, and sure enough, the posting was deleted by the owner. Although I missed the item, what I miss even more is the courtesy of a simple "It's been claimed" in response to my inquiry.

I'm not sure when we stopped feeling it necessary to follow the most basic rules of social conduct. Make eye contact and acknowledge people you pass on the street. Don't interrupt or ignore people when they are talking to you. Offer your seat to a person who is not as robust or healthy as you are. Hold doors open for people who have their arms full. Say "please" and "thank you." Address elders as "Sir" and "Ma'am." Reply in kind to notes and letters that others send to you. Respect others, and maintain personal decorum. Extend courtesy and kindness at every opportunity. Obey the Golden Rule.

I remember the lessons. I remember that on each occasion when I failed to measure up, people who cared about me gave me reminders about where I'd fallen short -- some more stern than others -- and cautions that poor manners and disregard of others wouldn't get me very far in life. Peace in a community is based always in a willingness to conform to the norms of the society, especially when the norms reflect harmony and graciousness.

It's as if we've decided that we don't need to be nice to one another. We don't need to be polite. We don't need to be friendly or welcoming. We have the right to do just as we please, irrespective of anyone else's expectations or needs. When people reach out to us, we dismiss them, out of hand.

Excuse me. I need to send out a pile of personal thank you notes to people whose courtesy toward me has been greatly appreciated.

R.B.

Diversity has been written into the DNA of 
American life; any institution that lacks a 
rainbow array has come to seem diminished, if 
not diseased.
   - Joe Klein

Last Sunday, I finally got a look at a recent photograph of Trayvon Martin, the young man who was killed as the result of his encounter with George Zimmerman, a "neighborhood watch" volunteer. The facts surrounding Martin's death and what provoked it are in the hands of the court system now, and I don't want to speculate on the case.

I want to stay focused on the face in the photograph, and my reaction to it.

I see intelligence in Martin's eyes, and the curious mismatch of a nose that is somehow at odds with the boyishness of the rest of his face -- as if he still had some growing into it to do. His is the face at the launching point of manhood. His mouth is upturned at its corners, the hint of a sly little grin as he peers into the lens, a laugh being teased out of him despite his desire to appear serious. 

He looks like every seventeen year old youth I've ever met in my life, and I have met quite a few. Young men in every color, size, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, degree of smarts, athleticism, or anything else you might imagine. What he doesn't look like to me is a person to fear, even though he's wearing a hooded sweatshirt. He looks like a nice kid, trying to be cool, trying to fit in with his friends.

In December, I had a reason to travel to the midwest. I made the trip by rail, an experience I haven't had in a long time. On my trip home to Massachusetts, I had a five-hour layover in Chicago's Union Station. The trains are gaining ground that the airlines have lost, and the place was packed. I checked my bags through to Boston, then went to the waiting area, where I found a seat. I carry Sudoku books with me when I have to wait places -- for me, there is something calming, almost meditative, in the act of finding the correct spaces for the nine sets of nine numbers. I opened my book, took up my pen, and settled into my task.

I'd been at it for a while, going through several pages, when the person sitting to my right spoke to me. "How do you play that game? How do you know where to put the numbers?"

I looked up. The stranger was a whip-thin youth in jeans, sneakers and, yes, a hoodie. He was staring at my half-finished puzzle. He half-smiled as he told me he'd seen people solve Sudoku puzzles before, and always wondered how they were doing it. He seemed genuinely interested, so I asked, "Would you like to do one with me? If you have time, I can explain as we go."

He gave me a broad smile, and with only the briefest of introductions, we set to work at solving simple puzzles. Time flew, he learned a new game, and we had fun together. When we parted, I reached in my bag and fished out another Sudoku book I packed-- half-finished, because I always leave the easy ones for last. I offered it to him, saying, "Here, take this. You can practice on the train."

He thanked me, then joined the queue to board his train. As he exited the waiting area, he turned back, smiled and waved goodbye. My heart lifted a little. I was still smiling as the handsome boy vanished from view. A woman always appreciates being appreciated.

In the time we'd shared, I hadn't paid any attention to our surroundings. Now, however, I realized I was a person of interest to several people in the waiting area. People were staring frankly, many with an expression of mild amusement. I met a gaze or two, nodded, then returned to my puzzles until my train's departure was called. When I reached home, I told my beloved about my chance encounter, and how much fun I'd had teaching the teen. I filed this away in my memory banks, and didn't think about it until I saw the photo of Trayvon Martin.

I went back over my afternoon in Chicago -- a more than middle-aged, well-dressed white woman with snowy hair and a tall black youth in a hoodie, hunched together over our common task, talking, laughing, having a good time, even though we'd just met -- truly, strangers on a train. The time was pleasant because we found a way to share the experience and ourselves. I don't know where my young friend was headed that day, but I hope it wasn't to a darkened street where bigotry, racism or fear could lay him in his grave for the price of an iced tea and a box of candy.

Excuse me. I have to go buy some more easy puzzle books to keep on hand. I never know who I'll meet on the road.

R.B.

"That the value of a telecommunications 
network is proportional to the square of 
the number of connected users of the system (n2)."
   - Metcalfe's Law

A Facebook entity known as "Revolution News Network" posted this extremely thought-provoking article, which I personally believe every US citizen ought to be reading and commiting to memory. I also believe every US citizen ought to take to heart the very real possibility that until we demand accountability from our government and our representatives, down to the penny, we can't expect anything to change.

There is a very simple, and we think overlooked, reason why the abominations of SOPA and PIPA have appeared like cancerous growths in the House and Senate, and it has more to do than just censoring the internet. It goes deeper than that. It hits a nerve. The very idea of a bottom-up, people driven internet clashes violently with the ideological and political worldview that surveillance should only exist in one direction: From the top down. 

You see we've overlooked what it really means in terms of discomfort and career risk to those who normally bask and benefit from the art of statecraft. You see, the ordinary, unwashed masses - that would be you and me - are in possession of one of the most powerful forces the earth has ever seen. 

And you have learned to use it in a way that is indeed alarming. 

Ordinary people, with little or no political knowledge or even education, are using it to keep their elected employees under surveillance 24 hours a day seven days a week - like real hiring managers should. 

You see, you're all figuring out that your computer desk at home is now headquarters - it's now the head office - and your acting like the boss, and these employees don't like it one bit. 

You're calling them out for having a business on the side. For taking long lunches with your competitors. For using the company car and copy machine for their personal use without telling you. For improper conduct that would violate any employee ethics manual. For noticing that they exempt themselves from it, but not you, the boss. 

In other words you are finally (as the founders intended, and would be ecstatic to see) holding your elected Federal and State employees accountable beyond their wildest imagination. 

You're watching "the help" like any good supervisor, manager or owner would and THEY DON'T LIKE IT. 

Why? You're tirelessly performing hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual performance reviews. You are writing them letters of praise or reprimand. You are sending them the equivalent of performance improvement plans ("improve or remove" coaching letters). You are expressing your anger or disappointment for lying to you during presentations (i.e., debates on the floor of the House or Senate, during interviews with the press, or during campaign speeches) since you're able to compare a report they delivered a year ago, or a month ago to one they gave today. And even post a clip of them lying that they cannot deny or hide from. You're catching them lying on or padding their expense reports or catching them investing or accepting rewards or favors where it's a conflict of interest to you personally as the real CEO of this country. 

You have harnessed a resource at your fingertips - Google alone processes 24 petabytes of data alone per day - that you can use to micromanage them, in a way that they prefer to use instead to micro-manage you. 

In other words, you are doing things that they prefer to DO TO YOU INSTEAD, AND TO YOU ONLY, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. 

SOPA and PIPA have been introduced (along with other abominable legislation of late) to keep you and the Constitution of the United States from activating at a level that they will never be able to suppress unless they act now. A tipping point in what they believe is the wrong direction is at hand. A tipping point that could restore the Republic to its original Constitutional form and end a 100 year reign of the kleptocracy. 

You and your use of the internet have inadvertently leveraged an 18th century Constitution, a Bill of Rights, the Privileges and Immunities clause, and powers reserved to the States or the people themselves, and raised them all to an unprecedented, almost astronomical power. 

You have accidentally taken the rights and powers in these old parchment documents all to a level several orders of magnitude above the most basic objections against the divine rights of kings and despots that were so eloquently expressed, even in the Declaration of Independence, to a dizzying height never thought possible by the Founders. 

You have arranged yourselves in direct competition to them, into virtual Senates, virtual Houses of Representatives, virtual Judiciaries, and virtual Inspectors General's, all in a manner that redefines what consent of the governed will mean from now on. You can all now deliberate every decision, every move, every dollar, every law, beyond the mere vehicle of freedom of assembly and freedom of speech. 

You have arranged yourselves into a neural net, or brain of the actual Republic, as originally intended. but never foreseen. 

And it is from that height, that the internet has allowed the US Constitution and you as the owner to, almost without being fully aware of it, to decimate the worldview -the philosophy of empire - that to this day would prefer that the nuisance of the cult of liberty vanish from the face of the earth along with its insufferable US Constitution once and for all. You have it on the run. 

And there you have the real reason for SOPA, PIPA, and the NDAA provisions and other laws that the House and the Senate have had the temerity to introduce while simultaneously flouting these words written by giants that will forever tower over them and cast long shadows over their dealings... 

"Congress shall make no law....." 

STOP SOPA. STOP PIPA. HOLD ONTO THE INTERNET TIGHTLY AND DON'T LET GO.

It's not about SOPA and PIPA, it's about holding onto what our nation values as precious.

Excuse me. I'm about to exercise my rights as a free citizen.
R.B.

“There are risks and costs to a program of 
action, but they are far less than the long-range 
risks and costs of comfortable inaction.”
   - USA President John F. Kennedy

I hate what's going on in this country, and a dramatic example of the worst aspects of what I hate showed up in today's news digest. Last night, outspoken author, political activist and feminist Naomi Wolf was arrested and led away from a small protest on the sidewalk in front of the HuffingtonPost building in New York City, apparently for no good, legal reason. Watch the video of this disgraceful exchange. After you do, come back.

Wolf has been vocal in her support of the OccupyWallStreet movement (now evolving into OccupyAmerica), and she has repeatedly cautioned protesters to remain calm, to remain peaceful, and to remain commited to their cause, which she and millions of others in their heart of hearts know to be a just one. In the video, it's pretty clear that Wolf is respectful, is peaceful, never raises her voice, and is doing nothing more than standing in a place a white-shirted police officer doesn't want her to be. The whole exchange takes less than two minutes, and in the end, she's led away by a blue-shirted law enforcement officer. Wolf was taken to the 7th precinct lockup, and released not long after being arrested, with the "disorderly conduct" charges being amended to "resisting a lawful order." The order was not lawful, as in the USA I know, citizens may stand on a public sidewalk, and protesters have a right to peacefully assemble to express their grievances.

Since this event, however, I've started wondering about the "white shirts." Who are they? Some news sources report that they're police supervisors, and that the color of the uniform shirt indicates their senior authority and superior judgment. Last week, we saw Officer Anthony Bologna move through a crowd of OWS protesters to pepper spray the eyes of young women who had been "kettled" by police on the sidewalk, and then vanish back into the crowd as the women dropped to their knees, blinded and screaming. This constitutes senior authority and superior judgment?

On Wednesday, Wolf spoke with the Guardian about, among other things, the "white shirts."

"Then, a huge group of men in white shirts, who seem to be affiliated to the New York police department, but who are not self-evidently so – bigger and fitter than the rank-and-file blue-shirted officers – came in droves. About 30 or 40 of these men appeared.
"They got a megaphone – which the protesters are told is illegal – and they started shouting that we were illegally disrupting an event and we should disperse." 

Wolf said she "calmly" disputed the order with one of the officers in white shirts, who are more senior than those in blue shirts. "By this time I was surrounded by them. One of them asked me if I was going to get out of his way. I didn't think consciously that I couldn't step away, but I froze. My conscience froze me."

Wolf has warned the protesters of OWS to be on the lookout for agents provocateur--people who infiltrate groups for the purpose of stirring up trouble. Is it possible that because the hoped-for violence hasn't erupted, the "white shirts" have taken on that role, spoiling for the spark to what will result in pain, bloodshed, and excessive use of force?

If you are part of the Occupy protests, my advice is to instead of waiting until you see the whites of their eyes, pay attention to the color of the shirt. Brown or white, the message and intent of those shirts bodes ill for your liberties and freedom.

I usually end my posts with a snarky "Excuse me, but..." statement that sums everything up. I don't feel so snarky today. I'm distressed by what is going on, and I'm feeling the need to head into Boston.

Or maybe Concord or Lexington, where patriots of the past knew when and how to fight for freedom.
How about you?

R.B.

"When you choose the lesser of two evils, 
always remember that it is still an evil."
   - Max Lerner, political commentator

I'm sick to death of hearing and reading comments from people who offer up the "lesser of two evils" as justification for whatever lame, misguided action they've taken or are about to take. Take the TSA apologists (please, take them), for example, who say that although the current agency staffing levels are outrageously high and expensive, that although travelers are being traumatized and brutalized simply because they want to go from point A to point B on commercial air carriers, that the delays and lines are getting worse and longer, and that although time and again, statistical and actual evidence suggests proves that those in charge of the agency know perfectly well everything the TSA does, from its tin-badged, flashy uniforms to the "gate-rape or grope," is pure security theater, the inconveniences are "worth it," because the TSA is the lesser of two evils. The other evil, presumably, is the lurking terrorist who plans to blast every US commercial airliner out of the sky, and most especially, the one with you on it.

How about all the people who are now engaged in spirited, if rancorous, discussions about whether the Democrats or the Republicans should be in charge? I listen to otherwise rational men and women assert that they're going to vote against a candidate, even if the opposing candidate is a known scoundrel and reprobate, because the bad guy is the lesser of two evils. Apparently, it never occurs to anyone that swinging back and forth along a pendulum path still tethers you to the crooked system from which it depends.

This week, Apple visionary Steve Jobs died. His mantra was, "Think different." If you want change, you have to not only think different, but act upon the thinking. Accepting the lesser of two evils results from a belief that we're stuck with a Morton's Fork, in which there is actually no choice at all, as no matter what you choose will yield an equally awful result. While I do agree that voting for a Democrat or a Republican will likely yield equally bad results, I suggest to you that there are indeed alternatives, if you look for them.

If you must choose, never, ever choose evil. You don't "throw away" your vote--you're taking a stand against a bad status quo, and you're encouraging others to do the same. Try it. Talk about it. Own the courage of your own convictions. At the very least, you'll sleep better at night.

Excuse me. I need to go see what positive changes I can make in the world today.

R.B.