I live about half a mile from what is called the “High Bridge” in St. Paul, MN. The high bridge has a well-deserved infamy as a suicide spot -- with seven people jumping from the deck of the bridge which is 160 feet above the Mississippi, during 2015.

The bridge has been closed for several months. They’re installing a nine-foot high barrier to cut down on the jumpers.

In 2000 I voted for W. My tendencies are quite liberal, but he seemed much better than more Clinton years via gore. This week I was reminded why I thought so highly of W. when he said the following.

"Bullying and prejudice in our public life sets a national tone. It provides permission for cruelty and bigotry and compromises the moral education of children. The only way to pass along civic values is to first live up to them."

We need to demand civil behavior.

Jill

There is a definite way NOT to end a book.

Recently I purchased an e-book -- From Man to Woman by Lindy Smith on Amazon. It was a compelling story marred by typos and some continuity issues, but still worth spending considerable time reading, EXCEPT it stopped in the middle of nowhere. From the way it was written, to that point, I would estimate several chapters were missing.

There are so many things we can do with our time. Why do so many of us decide to spend a large amount of time writing?

For the first thirty years of my life, I thought I was the only one who thought like I did. That was a lonely existence.

Yesterday, during the discussion of the military ban on Transgender a person who was anti-ban spoke to a newscaster.

He said that he’d served in the military and didn’t believe that trans people were a problem. He said, “You’re either a man or a woman, and once you’ve completed the transformation your become one or the other. End of problem.”

Arghhhhhhh!

I wonder what percentage of our society believes that?

What is this utter fascination with a binary society?

Jill

I can't remember exactly when it was that I started writing TG fiction, but it must be coming up on twenty years ago (I removed fifteen stories from Storysite in 2003).

I love movies almost as much as I love books and reading.

This time of year the worthwhile available new movies are slim pickings.

I decided to review "TG" movies as rated by Rotten Tomatoes. I realize Rotten Tomatoes isn't always right, but the audience scores generally provide good direction. After reviewing this list I added about thirty movies to my Netflix queue.

I hope you find some value in this list of Rotten Tomatoes audience scores.

This list grabbed my attention. I'd just watched Sophia Loren (and Clark Gable) on TCM and wondered where on the list she placed. The shocking answer was, "No where." http://www.rediff.com/getahead/slide-show/slide-show-1-glamo...

These would be my top fifteen:

Often TG fiction features characters who go to great lengths to establish that they are transsexual. They go through a huge amount of angst to prove, or at least to assert, that they are NOT GAY, and/or NOT A TRANSVESTITE.

Can anyone tell me why that is such a frequent theme?

We used a term in Catholic school to describe zealots. That was “holier than thou”. It seems sometimes that some authors want to express a “trannier than thou” attitude.

Just finished binge watching Thirteen Reasons Why on Netflix.

This should be required watching for every high school student.

It scored a 90 on Rotten Tomatoes.

Accurate portrayal of bullying.

Quite moving.

Jill

Last week I attended a large sales meeting. I had to hang my overcoat on the back of my chair. During the meeting, the person next to me rolled his chair over part of my coat and ripped it.

On Friday I went on Amazon, using the link you've provided https://www.amazon.com/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=sl2&...

I found just the London Fog I wanted, at a great price far below what I thought I would have to pay.

According to Erin’s numbers about 8,000 unique visitors a day read at least one story on BC.

I’m going to assume that many, many BC users are frequent users and will guess that about 25,000 people read five to ten stories a month.

Those 25,000 readers are enjoying an immense service. About 1-3% of those are authors who also have the satisfaction of a great place to post their fiction.

I was watching the news last night on the local FOX affiliated station. Much to my surprise they were interviewing my cardiologist. He was explaining “broken heart syndrome” in connection with Debbie Reynolds' death.

Not too many years ago he had given me the same explanation. We were in his office going over my medical history, including my family’s health.

I had told him that my father had died in his sleep from a surprise heart attack. Less than a week later, my mother, who had not displayed any heart problems, died from a “heart attack.”

In 1849, it was written in the Polite Manual for Young Ladies:

“Novel-reading strengthens the passions, weakens the virtue, and diminishes the power of self-control. Multitudes may date their ruin from the commencement of this kind of reading; and many more, who have been rescued from the snare, will regret, to the end of their days, its influence on the early formation of their character. It is, too, a great waste of time. . .If you wish to become weak-headed, nervous, and good for nothing, read novels."

I've just completed a draft of a new story for Hatbox called "Aunt T's" and need beta readers.

The story involves the semi forced feminization of a late thirties male.

I need an unsullied eye to find those inconsistencies that invariably happen.

I don't get any of the Hatbox revenue . . . so consider any help you give me an ultimate gift to Erin. Hatbox usually attracts more subscriptions when new material is offered.

This story is a bit dark . . . but travels toward the sun.