A lot of people are writing morose bits about 2022 and how they hope that 2023 won’t be worse. I dunno: I had a good 2022 and I expect a good 2023.
To be sure, when I paid $111.00 for about $50 worth of groceries earlier today, that was disappointing. And gas is getting back above $4 a gallon here. So, yeah: I know that some things really sucked in 2022. But I had a good year.
I put out Shadow Army and Kings and Queen. I had hoped to get Heirs out in 2022 but, believe it or not, I’ve had the hardest time finding appropriate cover art for it. I know, sounds silly: but it is important. And let me tell you, for all the really first rate art there is to buy out there, I was surprised to find that getting a couple pictures of young men looking heroic for a fantasy novel cover was hard. I think I finally found what I need: of course, it’ll have to be modified. Not for me is the wealth that would allow me to commission original art – I buy art on the market and then have it modified to suit.
And I recently received a note from a reader who found Kings and Queen to be first rate. I’m happy when I get that feedback. If I can bring just a little bit of joy to someone’s life, then the whole thing is worth it. Right after that note, I did have to read Kings and Queen again to make sure that nothing in Heirs contradicted Kings – and as I read it, I had to agree with my reader: it really is a first rate novel. Lots of fun; I hope a bit moving in places. Heirs I also think good, and Empress is the best of all so far, in my view. The Crimson Blade needs some work on the ending. Home World also need a bit of work on the ending. Home World gets us back into our world for a bit of fun and adventure, Ghost Tower is shaping up nicely…and I was suddenly inspired again and got a start on Antaki, which will be book XII. I’ll be at this for a while!
And, of course, just before Christmas we released Aleste and the Icecrystal Dragons. While I hooked the story into the Mirrors series, it is a stand-alone story and it really is my granddaughter’s story. As I was one day explaining the Mirrors series to her she got a thoughtful look on her face and observed that my story had no dragons in it. And so I told her to invent some dragons for me – and then I just took her Narrative and put it into book form. It is an excellent little tale suitable for about 8 to 12 year old kids, probably more favorable to girls (imagine that: a ten year old girl comes up with a story that little girls will like!). It is clean (of course) and its got dragons, magic, a princess, an evil witch and lots of fun. If you’ve got a youngster in your life, I recommend it: you can find it on Amazon.
I took some vacation time to the beach: Del Mar and La Jolla in San Diego, to be exact. I had introduced my wife and granddaughter to it a couple years ago and they’ve fallen in love with it. The shining memories I have is my granddaughter building a sand castle in just about the exact spot on Torrey Pines beach where I did when I was 8 or so…and then taking an hours walk on the beach with her. Just Pop and her…with her asking me every question under the sun about oceans and seagulls and starfish and sea lions and on and on and on.
We all heard that Pope Benedict passed today, the last day of the year. Hard to be sad when someone passes away at 95. But it was a bit of a wrench. I am not one of those Trad-Caths who abhors Pope Francis. I have my disagreements with some non-doctrinal things he’s said and done, but on doctrine he’s been as solid as Benedict or John Paul ever were. I do believe that the Church was getting at risk of being too rigid – starting to get into a habit where the form was more important than the substance. I dig the people who want the Latin Mass (I prefer the Novus Ordo, myself) and there is a need to hold fast to the past…but there is also a need to recognize that we’re no longer defending Christian civilization. That is dead and gone and if we pretend otherwise, nobody will listen to us. We have to take people as they are and bring them along: not demand that they immediately be like a Catholic or other Christian was in, say, 1923.
It does suck that China Joe is still in office. Also sucks that we lost the Senate. I’m not thinking we’ll have a good political year in 2023 for the Right. Unless things really go south. Which they might.
It also continues to suck that Russia is being Russia, China, China all the while our political and military leadership is incompetent if not bought by foreign powers. But, leaders comes and go. And we have made lots of progress at the State and local level. We get a Republican governor here in Nevada on the 7th. the North Carolina Supreme Court will be Republican dominated at least until 2029 – thus putting an end to Democrat efforts to fraud North Carolina from Red to Blue. And that is the real key to the future: hold what we’ve got, make it legally impossible for Democrats to fraud us out…and then build outwards into the purple and blue areas of the country. So, we do have some reasons for optimism.
And, also, crying won’t help. You can, if you wish, drop into a funk about it all – but why being miserable seems a good option is a bit beyond my experience. I prefer to be happy, and have a good New Year.
Blogs For Victory 
I had a pretty good year as well; ending up the year with more money than I started the year with, which, given the level of inflation and what the stock market did, is no mean feat. As far as we know, neither my wife nor I have gotten Covid, or if we did it was very mild. My granddaughter, her husband and two little girls moved back to northeast Indiana from Maryland, only 25 minutes from us, so we get to watch our great-granddaughters grow up. All in all, life is pretty good.
Hey as long as the family is healthy and happy, I’m good. That’s my role in my purpose driven life. I am not a narcissist, not much offends me, I don’t use pronouns, I know that men can not become women and I don’t care what people think of me. I do care that my grandson will most likely not live in the same country that I lived in because of those narcissistic weak confused men who think they can become women and the women who coddle them. And that’s the party that supposedly supports womens rights. How Orwellian is that?
We’re going to get to watch Orwell play out in real time, I’m afraid. I intend to watch from the side lines and jeer at every opportunity.
Happy New Year, my friend.
I am afraid we will, and most likely a lot of stuff Orwell didn’t even think of LOL. Godspeed amigo, I appreciate you and my best wishes to you and your family.
Here’s another good example of why this country is in such chaos. Everything is a lie. They just lie through their teeth about everything.
LMAO … this is priceless. First Cher wouldn’t get the vaccine because of Trump, then embraced the vaccine because of Joe, now attacks anti vaxxers for getting the flu hahahahahahahahahahahaha YCMTSU
I Said I Would Never get Vaccine as long a trump was in White House. Moment Joe Gets Vaccinated I will Get in line & Get my vaccination.This has Nothing to Do With my
Respect,& Love For Joe.I Know Him..HE WOULD NEVER PUT US OR OUR COUNTRY IN DANGER.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/01/leftwing-personality-cher-attacks-anti-vaxxers-claiming-responsible-major-btch-flu/
Just saw a great post …
“Imagine living through the last 3 years and still not being the slightest bit suspicious”
LMAO, so good. This sums up Casper, Fielding, and Forty, that’s for sure.
It is a bit amazing, isn’t it? It shows an unwillingness to use reason, which is really the death of humanity.
This blog started as Blogs for Bush. Now, to be sure, W wasn’t the Chimpy McSmirk BusHitler that the Left made him out to be…but I don’t think any of us, looking back, feel other than a bit of disappointment. The two stand-out things to say about Bush in hindsight is that after 9/11 he didn’t punish the Americans who let it happen – this isn’t “fire doesn’t melt steel” 9/11 Trutherism…but the bottom line is that huge numbers of people up and down the line in the military, FBI and CIA screwed the pooch. Nobody was fired. Nobody was jailed. 3,000 Americans were murdered and this massive, National Security State didn’t even give us a “my bad”. The other thing, and it follows from the first, is that he allowed this National Security State which screwed the pooch to essentially dictate the response to 9/11…which amounted to restrictions on our liberty while never tackling the central problem of the Middle East: the mullahs in Iran.
So, we live and learn – and that is why a lot of us have signed on to “no more war” and “abolish the FBI”. We found that as we’re not allowed to win the wars, best not to have them…and we’ve also learned that the FBI is incapable of doing good. It isn’t just a few bad apples: the very concept of a federal police force which can check up on us is bad. We’ve Moved On from our 2004 views. The Left? The only movement they have is when their masters require them to do a 180 depending on who is in power…you know, Bush’s “stroke of the pen, law of the land” was fascism, but Obama’s “Pen and Phone” is Democracy.
I simply could not live like that – with what I believe dictated by whatever Current Thing Narrative the Ruling Class decrees. But that huge numbers do follow it shows our problem – and perhaps the problem of humanity: people will follow anything. Now I better understand why the Church was so adamant against allowing any heresy to be abroad…because they knew full well that if they really allowed people to believe as they wish, all sorts of idiot beliefs would gain currency among people who will just do as they’re told.
And why Governments do not want an educated and armed population.
The one positive thing about the pandemic is that it fostered a lot of great memes:
Lol. Like I said, Orwell didn’t even think of this shit.
I’m still not sold on the vaccine causing all that trouble – but there’s at least enough for a genuine investigation…with the trouble being we have no idea if we can trust the results of an investigation either way as the professions all burned their credibility in 2020 to get Trump.
Get an electric car they said. You’ll save the planet.
The website Motorious reported on Friday that former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr has been sounding the alarm on a terrifying item buried within the Biden-McConnell “infrastructure” legislation, which passed in August 2021. According to Barr, the government will now have the power to shut off your vehicle if they determine you are partaking in any “illegal” activity.
Geez who could have seen this coming??
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/01/big-brother-will-watch-drive-disgusting-infrastructure-bill-installs-kill-switches-new-vehicles-turns-america-police-state/
Who voted for it? I’ll say the same thing I said about Obamacare—we should have a nationwide coordinated campaign starting with asking members of Congress why they voted for this and then moving on to a secondary campaign (after no one will admit to voting for this specific item) with the message “Did X vote for this without even reading the bill? FIRE HIM!”
(BTW this would target Republicans who voted for it, too, Which would be a good thing.)
So this is interesting …
FOX comparing themselves to CNN and MSNBC is nothing to brag about.
There is a whole lot that’s wrong with our media including Fox, and it starts with the “career celebrity pundits”. 99% of their coverage is now opinion, not news, and it’s delivered by the very same people for nearly 20 years now, who all live in DC and go to the same cocktail parties as those they report on. It’s a an incestuous cesspool and is as dangerous to this country as the corrupted FBI.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/01/ratings-will-continue-sink-president-trump-comments-cnn-msnbc-even-foxs-terrible-ratings/
Which is pretty much the same message I have been repeating, ad nauseum, for years now. My approach has been more along the lines of developing an alternative but the core message is the same—-these media are actively undermining our nation’s foundations.
I don’t think Fox has gone over to the Dark Side yet, but they have been getting pretty squishy. I think the opinion side is the only thing keeping them afloat.
We get a lot of fleeting power outages here and when that happens my computer resets to its default browser, which is Edge/MSNBC. When that happens I am bombarded with pages cluttered with clickbait and virulent anti-Trump messages couched as news. This relentless onslaught of anti-Trump hatred has to be taking a toll.
I see the control of information as an opportunity—–there is clearly a vacuum here that can be and should be filled by an aggressively objective medium. Look at it this way—-all these stations are competing for the same market, which means an alternative wouldn’t have competition.
So far Elon is the only billionaire willing to put his money on the line for a free speech forum. My hope is that he is the first domino and if successful, others will follow.