February 2, 2010

Of Rainbows And Wars


The U.S. military appears to be on the way to eliminating the "don't ask, don't tell" proviso regarding gays in the military. About time! If gay people want to serve our country by being in the Armed Forces, it's fine by me. A person's sexual orientation should have nothing to do with their Patriotism. Of course, I don't understand why gay folks should feel patriotic, since they are not even granted the right to marry. But semper fi, regardless.

And speaking of the war, why do news organizations refer to murdering bastards as "suicide bombers"? I prefer the term "fucking scumbags".

And in tribute to an older war, I hope Inglorious Basterds wins alot of Oscars. What a fine movie, and what a happy ending!!!!!!!!!

From President Obama's State of the Union Address:

"But I realize that for every success story, there are other stories, of men and women who wake up with the anguish of not knowing where their next paycheck will come from, who send out resumes week after week and hear nothing in response."


It is absolutely staggering how many "no replies" I am getting when I send resume's out. I am extremely qualified in my chosen field and yet, no responses. This could mean that companies are getting swamped with applications, as the jobless rate is more than 10%; but it is still so frustrating. The hardest job is finding one.


And thanks to all that responded about being test subjects for my "book". I greatly appreciate it!

And speaking of books, as I have so much spare time, I've read plenty lately. Veteran rock music critic Robert Hilburn's "Cornflakes With John Lennon" is a sweet one. Sort of a memoir, he tells eloquent tales of his encounters with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon, Johnny Cash and others. He hits the big names and probably gives himself a bit too credit in the influence department, but an engaging book nonetheless.

And Clarence Clemons' "Big Man: Real Life And Tall Tales" is part autobiography and part, well, tall tales. Very entertaining. He plays with some guy named Stringbean, or Springsteen or something.

And lastly, a SHOUT OUT to my (not so) old pal Mo, whose blog NYCBites is a must read. It's food for thought. No calories! And it might put inches on your brainline. Or something.

5 comments:

Denier said...

Nazz, I feel ya pain, b/c I've been responding to at least 2 jobs per day for the last month, with absolutely no response, never mind an interview. I too have loads of experience in the field, but I'm sure each and every proofreading or copy editing position is inundated with literally hundreds of responses.

Have you tried some of the publishing agencies? At one point I was registered with 5 of them, and getting fed with freelance work. We're talking 2 years ago now. I can give you some names of places if you're interested. It's tough out there now, man...

Nazz Nomad said...

warden- i think i've hit all the publishing agencies- but... any that you know of would be helpful- i also dropped a few links into your last post on your fine site that you may or may not be aware of!

highlander- thanks. and if gay people are crazy enough like us straights to enter the marriage institution... more power to 'em!

Denier said...

Hanx, mein host. Yeah, I know about Mediabistro. Once got as far as an interview a few years back from one of their ads, for Bloomberg Books of all things, not really into business despite being on Wall St. for long while. Great building to work in, though.

The agencies I know are Artisan (don't drop my name there, had a falling out let's say), Creative Circle, 24/7, Solomon Page and Creative Network. Page got me a 6-month gig once, the others a day or two here and there. They're mostly freelance, though, so keep that in mind. Thanks for the links...

cattylibrarian said...

Keep the faith...I got laid off in 2008 after 12 years, and that was a cushy gov. job. It took almost a year, but the job I have now is 10x more interesting, at a smaller, more energetic place. I lost a few $K a year, but, welcome to America...

PS the hot thing in publishing is small press/cooperatives, which admittedly are often broke.

infinite fool said...

Paraphrasing someone else here (I forget who, but he was obviously a moron): "Gays want to marry, serve in the military, become clergy and teachers, adopt children, and run for public office, but they don't share our values...."

As to the unemployment thing - have you thought about teaching while you look for full-time employment? The newsletter at work tells me that every publicly funded college in the state has record enrollment and that most community college are expecting further enrollment increases of over 10% per semester for at least another year, maybe longer.

That means that a lot of colleges are looking for a lot of adjunct instructors (especially since our illustrious governor's new budget makes it impossible for them to add full time folks any time soon). The pay is shit and your job is on the line every four months, but it's something to help pay the bills until you get the job you really want.

And you get to call yourself "Professor Nomad".

I'd hook you up where I work, but the commute might be a bit much.