Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Just FUN: Two by Alma Boykin, get 'em before July 1!

Alma Boykin, that richly rewarding delightful writer from Texas, has a couple on KU that you need to get borrow now, because if you wait until then, her income drops a bit. That's ME talking there, not her; it's because Amazon is rationalizing the payout under the KU program. That's a good thing, but it's also a good thing to send Alma some extra dough while you can. If you wait until July 1, then she won't get more money by loaning the book than she would get by selling it.
Both of these a sweet satires on the foolishness of politics, or at least, American style politics. They are short stories, and rather than belabor the point, I'm just going to quote my Amazon reviews:
5.0 out of 5 stars A tasty watermelon, chunked at the heads of those who presume power, June 24, 2015
By Amazon Customer (Woodstock, Georgia, USA)

This review is from: Mammals and Amends: or Bad Politician, No, No! (Kindle Edition)
Sometimes, idiocy is its' own reward. At other times, the idiocy is so blatant that a call goes out for every sapient in the universe to reach for the nearest watermelon and throw it, and then call for mosquito attacks.
And here's what a watermelon looks like in the hands of Alma Boykin:

“And I’m sorry my mammal ancestors ate the eggs of the dinosaurs, some of whom looked a lot like your ancestors who weren’t sapient.”
Boykin, Alma (2013-09-06). Mammals and Amends: or Bad Politician, No, No! (Kindle Locations 183-184). . Kindle Edition.

5.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes it takes a dinosaur to raze a village., June 24, 2015
By Amazon Customer (Woodstock, Georgia, USA)
This review is from: When Fossils Meet (Kindle Edition)
Oh, if only we could count on dinosaurs to solve the problems when bad science and political ambitions mix!
Check this out: completely dishonesty doesn't happen all at once. At one point, the scientist was actually interested in science; then she gets pulled into the nasty cxvfffffffffhbg caused by a basset pup walking across the keyboard but before that she's gradually corrupted by grants and access. It takes a concerted effort to resist such things, and unfortunately, when resources are scarce...well, you know.
And really: her projections aren't THAT outrageous, are they? I mean, it's only 20% of the country's GDP over the next 10 years. It's not like the money will be thrown away, or anything, right? It's going to go into Huxley industrial processes, where nothing is authorized unless it's demonstrated to consume more resources than a game of Centrifugal Bumble Puppy.
Actually we could solve this, in a much easier fashion. We just add an extra day to the weekend, and nobody gets paid for that day, even if they have to work. We already have a solid precedent established: the Beatles' song "Eight Days A Week." I'd be willing to bet that if we implement such a plan, the GDP would fall 20% on it's own, and nobody would have to pretend to do anything.
But, alas.
Sometimes it takes a dinosaur to raze a village.

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