The Royce Files

The audition process was long and competitive but I wholeheartedly but myself into it. The crowd energized me and I summoned those memories of discos from days of yore and then the hardhat fell off. In fact back in high school I won a disco dancing contest. This was long before Napoleon Dynamite pulled that stunt. I forget what I won but I suspect it was an LP of some kind. I was not sure I'd make the cut. I tried to put it out of mind. But then I started to imagine doing "Macho Man" and having scores.....then it I heard it- my name. I ran to the stage, accepted, and joined the others in a rousing rendition of "In the Navy" followed by the barn burner "YMCA." It was out of this world. Disco is stayin' alive!

On October 1st the Captain and I hosted a little Pod Reunion BBQ at lunch. The whole pod plus the adjunct and new pod members were able to attend. James unfortunately was not there for the pictures. With the fall weather co-operating, we devoured brats and hot dogs and even some Andouille Sausage (thanks to Matt) at the plaza behind my workplace. I had been wanting to do this for a while but finally had the time to plan it. I think the Pod had great time and it felt great to bless some people. Unfortunately I forgot the NKTOB cups for the root beer. The Pod in the picture is as follows (L 2 R) Tasha, Matt, Beth, and The Captain.

I had intended this Autumn holiday at Breezy Point to be one where I could do plenty of writing. The only problem- no particular place to write in the unit. The best place to write would have been the kitchen but the loud television made that absolutely impossible. I tried to make a nightstand into a desk in the bedroom. No go. It fit the laptop but was just a bit cramped. I did research instead- reading Christmas stories from the Guidepost book I referred to a few entries before. In the past I have written quite a bit at Breezy Point. But blockage kept me from the task. I wonder if Sinclair Lewis experienced any writing blockage the summer he spent at Breezy Point? Apparently we was able to write Elmer Gantry during his stay: Sinclair Lewis during the early Breezy era, rented a cabin on Pelican one summer and wrote his novel Elmer Gantry. His book would become a movie and take its place among the finest of American literary achievements. One family member close to the Lewis-era in t...

I suspect many of you may know or have heard of Ralph Nader. He's been a part of every Presidential election of this century and is an outspoken critic of corporations but a advocate for consumers. I wrote a few days ago that Ralph was coming to my town. I was unable to see him due to that lost keys fiasco (they are still missing.) A friend of mine did attend the rally and said Ralph was top notch. I just read an interview with him done by Amy Goodman back in June. Amy pretty much does a good job of getting Ralph to discuss lots of his positions. [ed. note Amy Goodman would generally be characterized as far left liberal or perhaps a more pleasant term, progressive according to her wiki bio . Let's just say she has some baggage that some would be uncomfortable. She shares many of Ralph Nader's positions. From this interview you can see that she is rather friendly towards Ralph and doesn't challenge him on any points. Amy has enough material for another blog article but ...

Well, it's a day late but since I usually write about Ireland I'll post the link to from the Combat Poverty Agency giving the usual rundown of poverty definitions and causes. It also has a list of effects of poverty and on the list was social exclusion. That would be interesting to study exclusion. Also interesting to study would be the increases in relative poverty as the Republic of Ireland's economy flourished during the 1990s into the 2000s. The organization has an unique curriculum to teach about poverty called Counted Out . Aimed at students, I've never seen anything like it.

As expected, the debate started on the topic of the economy. Both Obama and McCain reiterated the superiority of their plan. I checked out to do a little research on each candidate's stance on poverty. They both agreed combating HIV/AIDS worldwide should receive more government attention. Obama specifically wants to double annual funding of such projects. McCain supports the President's Plan for AIDS Relief program. So what's the connection of HIV/AIDS to poverty? To answer I will take a quote from an United Nations document. Globally, the highest HIV prevalence rates are found in poor countries, but within regions such as Africa, it is not necessarily the poorest countries that have the highest prevalence rates. Nevertheless, poverty increases vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and exacerbates the devastation of the epidemic. Poverty deprives individuals of the means to cope with HIV/AIDS. The poor often lack the knowledge and awareness that would enable them to protect themselves ...

A really well designed website, www.buyameter.org , concerned about getting access to clean water to some residents in Hale County, Alabama. The people who did some of the design of the site spent some time down in the area. The photographs are stark, yet stunning. I appreciate clean water and I'm sure there are some there who would be very glad to have it. You would think this would be a problem in the States, but it still is. I suspect this kind of relates back to last year's topic, the environment, because pollution and heavy chemical have made some water sources unfavorable for human use.