It may be a little hard to read, but here is an image of the Declaration of Independence. Click it for a bigger version.
I wish you life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Happy July 4th. Enjoy this video. If you are not familiar with Andre' Rieu, he is a lot of fun.
MisterWriter
After much work, the debut CD of Charlie Baggett (age 14) is near. As I reported last year HERE in my blog as well as in the Clayton Pioneer and The Concordian (p25), this is a kid to watch. I first heard him at the California Symphony playing at Todos Santos Plaza last summer. He was only 13 at the time and wowed the audience.
I have had the pleasure to know the family through my interviews and they have been kind enough to allow me a preview CD to listen to. It is an extremely good CD and one that promises many years of great things for this young man with a voice that fans of Josh Groban, Il Divo, Andrea Bocelli and many others will enjoy.
Visit his Website www.charliebaggett.com and listen to the title track.
And watch for the release of the CD which should be in July along with another interview from me on this blog.
MisterWriter
The explosive growth of blogs on virtually every topic over the recent years has led to a glut of content, much of which is questionable at best. When I started MisterWriter my goals were clear: as a writer I wanted a forum to share what I wrote, obtain feedback, meet other people in the process and generally have a place that I enjoyed visiting and working on.
I started this early 2005, then stopped. I started again in 2007 as I wound down a teaching career as the battle of the MDUSD board came into full swing. The blog became a harsh critic of the board, the system and the need for change, and to that end it was somewhat effective in generating conversation and even a newspaper interview or two in the CCTimes. Since then I have continued my push for a systemic change to the whole education process and find that I am very discouraged about the future of public education, both in the corruption that the system encourages, as well as in the poor results that are obtained despite huge amounts of money spent. While I do not blame the MDUSD board for this, I hope that boards of education will band together to change the impeding legislation that is, to be crass, screwing everything up.
Nonetheless I keep returning to my original goal of being a writing forum with content that reflects what I write as well as my views on different aspects of life. It seems that there is a support base interested.
I am a writer. I write short stories, novels, screenplays, articles, press releases, copy writing, poetry, songs, news stories, interviews, resumes, just to name a handful of things. I also published Signs You May An Idiot and other musings last year which is still available online, on my site www.signsyoumaybeanidiot.com as well at certain bookstores. There is even an e-version and for readers like me who use MobiPocket, let me know and I can convert it.
I am also a writer for hire, available for any and all of the above including press releases, Website content, direct mail and advertising promotions and so on. I am also a photographer - many of the photos that have appeared on the blog are my own and certainly I use my own photography in a lot of the stories I write for the two newspapers, the Clayton Pioneer and The Concordian. If you did not know , I co-publish The Concordian with the publisher of the Clayton Pioneer for whom I write. I also freelance a lot of work to publications that include Bay Area Parent Magazine and others.
I have noticed that there are very strong opinions out there. Whenever I post an opinion of my own on a topical subject there are invariably detractors who, while anonymous, like to slam me for my views. While I will post their comments, I do not have to tolerate them; that is the joy of blogging. Like television, if you do not like the content then turn it off.
My main site Gensburger.com and MisterWriter.com are undergoing an upgrade to reflect this. Watch for that in the near future.
I would also like to invite others to join in the forum here. I do not have to hog the posts! The goal is to have an interesting blog site filled with commentary and conversation about anything - with a lot of writing/literary content added - after all it is a writer's site.
With that said, I hope I have explained my goal for the future and I hope that you will continue to find it a worthwhile site to read. Thanks for your loyalty to date. I do appreciate all the feedback that I have received.
Have a happy and safe July 4th weekend. And don't forget, it was a bunch of English radicals who were branded as criminals and would have been hanged for treason had the revolution lost, who founded this country and the set of ideals we endlessly struggle with. History is only kind to the winners of any conflict. As it turned out, they became visionaries instead of criminals. There is a pride inherent in understanding and appreciating the ideals that were set out in the Constitution of the United States. While we teach the content, we do not impart the power behind that national pride which should make every American take stock of their values and strive to better the system, not indulge in the quest for loopholes and confusion. But that is another story.
Be safe. ~MisterWriter
 Deadline is the 15th of the month so any entries now go toward the August issue (deadline July 15) - winner will be notified by email and posted on the Website. It is an easy $100! MisterWriter |
 Here is another Dear Moron letter... What stands out here is how this is totally ridiculous and to fall for this you have to be as moronic as the person who wrote it. I am guessing that there must be some people who actually get suckered into this because these emails are non-stop. Enjoy - MisterWriter Dear Moron... DR CHRISTO VREYshow details Jul 2 (1 day ago) From Dr. Christo Vrey I await your reply to mustaphaadamse. |
| I am so lucky to receive a steady stream of emails from princes, kings, viceroys and many other dignitaries from various banana nations who would like to give me millions and billions of dollars by having me cash their check and send them the difference - trusting souls that they are. It is sad that they do not have banking in the republic of gorilla or wherever they spout from, usually Nigeria or some place equal in corruption. And so I decided to start posting these, after all they are amusing and their grasp of the language better than a high school level here in the good old USA. The latest one involves gold dust. Yep, gold dust (not white powder mind you.) Read on and enjoy. And if you have received these special emails, send them onto me at andre@misterwriter.com and I will be sure to post them for the collective enjoyment. - MisterWriter  |
 I like this story. Years ago with Charlton Heston's Planet of the Apes - you know "get your paws of me you damned dirty apes," famous quote, the premise was that after mankind destroyed itself, the apes rose up, developed speech and ruled the planet. Good luck monkey brains. Try ants instead. This study has found that the ants have a gigantic global colony that when test ed showed non-aggression to each other. Hmmm, that makes them better than humans, doesn't it? "In Europe, one vast colony of Argentine ants is thought to stretch for 6,000km (3,700 miles) along the Mediterranean coast, while another in the US, known as the 'Californian large', extends over 900km (560 miles) along the coast of California. A third huge colony exists on the west coast of Japan," the report said. Read it HERE. Apparently WE created this super, mega colony. So watch out what you squish in your kitchen from now on. They might remember you in the end times!!! And you thought you were important. MisterWriter |
| The online issue of The Concordian is now available for JULY 2009. Read all about the tower coming down and be sure to ENTER to WIN $100 CASH - no strings attached. Click the cover below and read it all online or pick up a copy July 1 at over 260 Concord locations... By the way, The Concordian was named BUSINESS of the YEAR by the Concord Chamber for 2008-2009 - MisterWriter    |
I wrote about this before in The Concordian and the Clayton Pioneer, and you can find a video link on the right sidebar... Movie actor, writer, director Jeff Mosely has perhaps the most creative funding option for the troubled MDUSD out there. Read on and then visit his site at concordmovie.com. - MisterWriter  |
I took my family to Sausalito on Sunday so we could escape the heat. We got some sandwiches at a local deli and that was where I took this shot. Can you tell me how it was done? It was NOT Photoshoped and the bottle did not break! I'll post the answer on Wednesday.  Meantime, while you ponder it, you can enjoy this lovely shot of those dirty birds, the seagulls! Enjoy! - MisterWriter  |
This was sent to me in an email - it is so accurate it needs to be shared. Tell me that it is wrong. Go on...I dare ya! - MisterWriter HIGH SCHOOL -- 1957 vs. 2007
1957 - Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack. 2007 - School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers. Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school. 1957 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies. 2007 - Police called and SWAT team arrives -- they arrest both Johnny and Mark. They are both charged them with assault and both expelled even though Johnny started it. Jeffrey will not be still in class, he disrupts other students. 1957 - Jeffrey sent to the Principal's office and given a good paddling by the Principal. He then returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again. 2007 - Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin. He becomes a zombie. He is then tested for ADD. The school gets extra money from the state because Jeffrey has a disability. Scenario 4: Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt. 2007 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is removed to foster care and joins a gang. The state psychologist is told by Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has an affair with the psychologist. Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school. 1957 - Mark shares his aspirin with the Principal out on the smoking dock. 2007 - The police are called and Mark is expelled from school for drug violations. His car is then searched for drugs and weapons. Pedro fails high school English. 1957 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English and goes to college. 2007 - Pedro's cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against the state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English is then banned from core curriculum. Pedro is given his diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English. Scenario 7: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the Fourth of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up a red ant bed. 1957 - Ants die. 2007 - ATF, Homeland Security and the FBI are all called. Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism. The FBI investigates his parents -- and all siblings are removed from their home and all computers are confiscated. Johnny's dad is placed on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again. Scenario 8: Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him. 1957 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing. 2007 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy. |
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