Nathan Tyree: just things
My parents, white middle class people in their fifties living in deep red Kansas, have become Obama-maniacs. My mother sends out pro-Obama and anti-McCain emails to everyone she knows. My dad campaigns at the factory where he works. In the last few months they have become addicted to Count Down with Keith Olbermann and Hardball. It has been fascinating to me to watch as my beloved M and P have evolved from center right Independents to hard left Democrats.
The change in their political orientation has come due largely to a right wing that has driven out reasonable people. My mother considers herself a Christian, and doesn’t think that Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Focus on the Family, Sean Hannity, et al, are in line with the Jesus she worships. Although I do not (and have never) believed in that silly superstition, I agree with her that the person to whom the Sermon on the Mount is attributed would look poorly on the likes of Bill O’Reilly and his hateful ilk. Mom, weirdo that she is, thinks that we should love each other and do a bit less bombing. She refuses to hate someone because their skin is brown and they crossed a line on a map in search of economic security. Further, she thinks that a person’s sexual preference isn’t a very good reason to deny them equal rights.
My dad, a tough old boy who at 55 works twelve hour days and like to hunt, claims that the billions spent in Iraq and on torture programs could be used to make sure that no child has to go to bed hungry and to protect our wonderful natural resources (you know, forests, wildlife, waterways, etc). He told me that he wants to make sure he can keep his guns to hunt with, but if the Democrats want to ban assault weapons he won’t be upset.
They are both loud proponents of socialized medicine. They both have started to think that we should invest in alternative fuels. They both worry about global warming. They both are strong opponents of the war the Messers Bush and McCain drug us into and want to prolong into perpetuity.
Mom and Dad are so cool.
And now, some news from the wild, wild world of writing, editing and pimping:
Target Audience Magazine is going to publish my review of Todd Haynes' strange and delirious film I'm Not There. The film is a phantasmagorical musing on the life and work of Bob Dylan. The magazine running the review focuses on music, poetry, and literature. It’s a cool quarterly and I recommend checking it out.
In Bookmunch news, we have a new reviewer: Mikael Covey is going to be writing for us. Mikael is a talented writer with fascinating taste in lit, so he’s sure to turn in some great stuff.
Magazine of the Dead has a new haiku up (sort of new, anyway, as I didn’t post here about it when it first went up). We don’t often do poetry, but this one really grabbed us by the throat, so we couldn’t resist.
I’ve put up a little wordpress site to host some of my previously published fiction (and to pimp my writing without mercy, of course). You might check it out at nathantyree.wordpress.com.
David hates MySpace. For a long time I agreed with his opinion (that it’s useless), but grudgingly took part. Recently, however, I have discovered that it can be quite cool. Through my MySpace page I have met several fans of Mr. Overby is Falling; developed relationships with editors; and recently enjoyed a conversation about Sartre with a complete stranger. So, maybe MySpace serves a purpose after all.
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