Timothy's Thoughts

W hy do people like getting books signed? If it is a popular author, a signature can raise the value of the book. That is as long as it isn’t made out to anyone in particular. I suppose it would raise it even more if it were made out to an equally wellknown person, but for most of us, having our name on a book we didn’t write will lower the value of the book. But what is it about signatures that make them desirable? What it really comes down to is that personal connection. In a world in which so many things are mass-produced, an item autographed by its maker is a rare thing. I think people like having a book that they know the author held in his hands and signed. That may mean they have to meet the author and ask him to sign the book. That experience in itself makes it even more meaningful, but the signature alone makes the book unique. Some people question what will happen to autographed books since it seems that books are going to the eBook format. If anything, I think this will ...

T here are some things that an author should delay telling the reader for as long as possible. In a whodunit, the author shouldn’t tell the reader who committed the crime until late in the book, but that’s not what I’m talking about. As I was watching a video the other day, I found that I was enjoying the video, but in the back of my mind I kept asking, “what’s the point?” I was sure the creator of the video was going somewhere with it, but when I reached the end of the video, I got it. The whole point was to leave a heritage for those who come after us. Once I saw that, I could look back at what I remembered from the video and see how the creator had supported his theme. In a novel, one thing we don’t want to do is to come right out and tell the reader what we want them to learn from the book. If we can do that, we should be writing non-fiction. Fiction deals with topics that aren’t easy to talk about. You don’t just say, “leave something behind for the people who come after you.” I...

A s you are aware, in the aftermath of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure / Planned Parenthood debacle, Karen Handel submitted her letter of resignation . The text leaves us with as many questions as it does answers. Did she leave because she felt she was no longer valued as an employee? Does the offer of severance pay imply that Nancy Brinker requested that she resign? Did she leave because Susan G. Komen for the Cure allowed it to be manipulated by the Democrats while Karen Handel is a card carrying Republican? I’m sure we could brainstorm motivation all day and still not know anything. What I do know is that Karen Handel looks like the hero in this mess. It is certain that the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization has made a bad decision by reinstating abortion provide Planned Parenthood . It is certain that Karen Handel left the organization because of that decision. For that, she should be applauded. My prayer is that others in that organization will follow her example and ca...

A ll stories are retold, over and over, but some are better than others. One of my favorites is that of a boy who begins in a position of weakness and ignorance. A person of wisdom comes along and instructs the boy in how to develop strength and wisdom. The mentor dies, leaving the boy to wonder how he can possibly go on without his teacher to guide him. Meanwhile, the enemy begins his attack. Seeing that all is lost if no one counters the attack, the boy rises up out of his grief and leads his men into battle. We see this story in so many different places and yet it never grows old. Star Wars followed this plot very literally. We also see it in The Neverending Story . The book Holes follows this plot, somewhat, though that book is as much about the character finding an appreciation for his family name. I think this plot was more popular when I was a kid than it is now. That could explain why I like it so much. Maybe I’m trying to relive my childhood. Maybe it’s just a guy thing....

G irl Power movies or stories are “about a female character who starts off without any acceptance—be it social, intellectual, physical, economic, romantic or political—and spends the rest of the movie gaining it.” [1] It would seem that we don’t have boy power stories. Girl Power stories often make the claim that girls, at least the girl in the story, can do whatever the boys can do, only better because she can do it with makeup on. I don’t imagine there would be much interest in a story that showed a boy doing girl stuff. This is partly because guys already believe they could do the girl stuff, if they really wanted to, so they don’t need a story to tell them they can. The male counterpart to the Girl Power story is the Coming of Age story. Remember Karate Kid ? Of course we remember great lines like “wax on, wax off”, but when we look at the journey of the character, it is not one of gaining acceptance but gaining strength. In a Girl Power story, the female character already...

G od, is he male or female? If you read the Bible, all references to God are in the masculine form. Some have argued that this has more to do with the male chauvinism the time when it was written than an indication of what God is. Some people have attempted to rewrite the Bible in gender-neutral form. Some have even decided that God is a woman, as the author of The Shack did. The argument of some people is that since there is only one God, it doesn’t make sense to say whether he is male or female. And they have a point, if we look at gender as merely the two parts of the reproductive puzzle. Before we decide whether God is male or female, let’s consider what it means to be male or female. Forget about the reproductive organs and the differences in appearance for a moment. Forget about the typically stronger nature of the male and the nurturing nature of the female. Let’s imagine that we have two beings that are blank slates. Essentially, they are equal in every way. Imagine that we...

M any of you have heard by now heard about the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization first indicating that they would no longer be providing Planned Parenthood with grants and then reversing their decision and offering an apology. The apparent reason for Susan G. Komen for the Cure cutting funding was that Planned Parenthood is under investigation. It should also be noted that Planned Parenthood doesn’t provide mammograms, which is a very important service in the fight against breast cancer. So, abortions or no abortions, it makes sense that Susan G. Komen for the Cure would spend their money elsewhere. So why then did they first say that Planned Parenthood would not be funded and now they are saying it is a mistake. The answer seems clear. This is an abortion issue, not a breast cancer issue. Susan G. Komen for the Cure was receiving a lot of flak about supporting the primary abortion provide Planned Parenthood . The policy that cut funding to organizations that don’t prov...