The Writer's Life 1/18 - Words & Pictures

In a great op-ed piece in today's NY Post, Kevin Williamson comments on the current, often erroneous labeling that's occurring in society. The most famous was the recent accusation by a CNN "reporter" citing a black commentator as a beneficiary of white privilege. Also, a Jew has been dubbed an anti-semite, an atheist a fundamentalist, and a homosexual a homophobe. Williamson uses the following quote from Voltaire to emphasize his point: "I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O Lord make my enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it." Kudos.

From Yahoo's Odd News, edited by yours truly: The Kutztown, Pa. Police Department sought three volunteers to drink hard liquor to the point of inebriation so officers could be trained how to administer field sobriety tests. A call for volunteers on Facebook attracted hundreds of responses and more than 1000 shares in less than a day. Volunteers were required to have a clean criminal history and have someone to take care of them after the session. The slots are filled. These guys didn't make the cut:

The owner of an Australian eatery spotted an iron bar she hadn't noticed previously in her coffee maker. It was a non-venomous snake. Here's a pic:

The appropriately named Ocean Ramsey is an intrepid photographer. Here she is beside a Great White Shark nearly 20-feet long, estimated as weighing 6000 pounds.

The floating book shop enjoyed some sales for the first time in three days. My thanks to the woman who bought a paperback in Russian, and to the gentleman who purchased short story collections by Ernest Hemingway and Raymond Carver; and to the young man who selected non-fiction on Tai Chi, nutrition and dog training; and to Ira, who chose a book on business.

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FB: https://www.facebook.com/Vic-Fortezza-Author-118397641564801/?fref=ts

Read Vic's Stories, free: http://fictionaut.com/users/vic-fortezza