Sunday April 21, 2013 I ran a discussion for Minnesota Speculative Fiction Writers (MinnSpec): "At what age are cows housebroken?  What urban and suburban writers should know about rural life before writing about it."

I started with a reference to the Cheers theme song:  "A place where everyone knows your name" isn't something country people need to search out.  Where I grew up (Ulster County NY; between Kerhonkson and Accord, which at the time had populations of a couple hundred people each), people would be more likely to want a bar where everyone didn't know your name.  And your grandfather's name.  And your great-grandfather's prison record.

Several other people were from other rural parts of the US.  I learned some things I hadn't known before.

And a couple of people had moved to the country; they had a different slant.

Other topics brought up:  Some urban neighborhoods are rather like very small towns in some ways.

Fantasy writers can get horses very, very wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kUcR4Kn0h24

Tuesday April 16, 2013  A political day. 

First, picked up Robert A. Heinlein's Double Star from Southeast Library.  I consider it one of the best science fiction novels about politics, if not the best.

In the evening I attended the Ward 2, Precinct 3 DFL caucus.  (DFL:  Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.  Except for the name, I don't think anything's left of the Farmer-Labor Party.)

Seven people showed up.  Fifty-two percent of Southeast Como residents are between 18 and 24 years old -- the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campuses are nearby.  I don't think any caucus attendees were under 50.

(Some other DFL caucuses were crowded.  However, Ward 2 didn't have any declared DFL City Council candidates.  Nor Republican candidates.  The incumbent is a Green, and may be re-elected with no opposition.)

The precinct caucus was entitled to elect 49 delegates and 49 alternates to the Ward 2 caucus.  I had no trouble getting elected.

Also, 13 delegates and 13 alternates to the Minneapolis caucus.  I had no trouble being elected.

City elections will use Ranked Choice Voting for the first time this year.  An explanation of RCV was given.  I didn't need it; I'm familiar with the Australian Ballot from science fiction club elections.

The incumbent Park Board member showed up to ask for support.

Someone came to ask for support for mayoral candidate Mark Andrew.

It was mentioned that Minneapolis has a "weak mayor" system, which means the city council has most of the power.

I pointed out that Chicago also has a "weak mayor" system in theory.  (In practice, most Chicago mayors have been powerful.)

One set of resolutions, to have Minneapolis consider the possibility of producing its own power.  Passed.

Note: Minneapolis city elections are nonpartisan.  Which does not keep parties from making endorsements.

Friday April 12, 2013  Via politicalwire.com, from Twitter:

 Rep. Steve Stockman @ReElectStockman

Our campaign bumper sticker: If babies had guns, they wouldn't be aborted. http://stockman2014.com  #gosnell #tcot pic.twitter.com/CVaYrQAeK9
1:44 AM - 12 Apr 13

Amused (mostly) comments on Politicalwire, some on problems of equipping fetuses for self-defense:
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2013/04/12/tweet_of_the_day.html#disqus_thread

Tuesday April 10, 2013  Some fantasy stories have humans who turn into wolves.  A smaller number have wolves who turn into humans.  But so far, I've never seen a story with both.

Monday night, I realized that I'm going to write one.  Not for a while, though.

***To Waite House.  Saw a presentation on eating healthily; and on growing your own food.  Pitch for a local coalition which can provide organic seeds and plants.  Unkind things said about big agricultural suppliers; particularly one known to some as Monsatan or Monsatano.

Then the twice-monthly produce distribution.

Then, picked up this month's NAPS (Nutritional Assistance Program for Seniors) box.  Which required my annual recertification.

There was stuff I didn't want.  I set it out for other people to take.

CRYSTAL BALLS. John W. Campbell opines, 1945: 'Television may never reach the stage of being in everyone's home, as radio receivers are now ... It can't be unobtrusive; you have to watch it. But you can't watch it if you're doing housework, paying bills, playing bridge, or reading ... My own hunch is that too few people will buy the expensive, four hundred dollar television receivers to support the commercial advertiser's very expensive show.' (_Astounding SF_, June 1945) [MMW (Martin Morse Wooster)]

***Another sign of Spring:  posters for the first garage sale of the year.

Tuesday April 2, 2013  Started taking a larger dose of my ADD medication.  (Sertraline; generic zoloft.  This is an off-label use.) 

One effect:  my too-tight muscles loosened noticeably, and my coordination improved slightly.  So it seems these problems aren't entirely due to cerebral palsy.

***The April Hmong Times has an article on young Hmong shamans.

Some had the difficulty that having been raised as Christians, they didn't have the direct cultural background to deal with their transformation into shamans. 

Shamanist phenomena aren't entirely unknown among Christians.  Some Protestant groups have practices very similar to shamanism, to begin with. 

Hasidic Judaism has a rich history of similar phenomena.  (I don't know how much of it goes on these days.)  It's part of my family history.