Kevin Camp's Blog – February 2011 Archive (13)

Reform's Inside and Outside Game

The weariness has taken hold. Years of recession inevitably produces, pardon the phrase, malaise. We may not be falling farther down, but neither are we observing new growth. Though our tastes, as well as our ideological stances greatly differ, every tree that does not produce good fruit has been threatened to be chopped down and thrown into… Continue

Added by Kevin Camp on February 28, 2011 at 8:00am — 1 Comment

By-Products of a Damaged World

I've recently been reading the late UK novelist's Muriel Spark's book The Comforters. Her first effort at the genre, it describes in detail the life of Caroline Rose, a recent convert to Catholicism. Set in 1950's Britain, Rose is first supremely skeptical of organized religion. The fellow believers with whom she interacts have… Continue

Added by Kevin Camp on February 24, 2011 at 8:05am — No Comments

Community Can Be Strengthened Even During Challenging Times

Much that has recently transpired gives us reason to be outraged. The rights of women are being compromised and invalidated by Congressional fiat. By now, there is no need for me to mention them again. Other posters, columnists, and commentators have eloquently taken stock of the situation and discussed its potential consequences. I find myself unable to do much but agree with their assessments, conceding once again how easy for it is for some to thoughtlessly terminate the ability of women…

Continue

Added by Kevin Camp on February 23, 2011 at 6:59am — No Comments

Making Sense of Revolutions

We are witnessing what may be the birth pangs of nascent democracy in the Middle East. Or, we may be witnessing something else entirely. A region which has long trailed the rest of the Western world in basic freedoms for its citizens is in the process of long-needed transition. What it will be and what form it will eventually take has yet to be… Continue

Added by Kevin Camp on February 22, 2011 at 7:30am — No Comments

An Interview with Adlai Stevenson III, Part Four: Diplomacy and Foreign Policy

On the subject of diplomacy and foreign policy, Senator Stevenson followed in his father's admittedly massive footsteps. In particular, he spent much time working in the Far East, and holds an expert opinion on Asia and monetary policy. The most detailed sections of The Black Book are devoted to both subjects. This next installment, however,… Continue

Added by Kevin Camp on February 18, 2011 at 4:49pm — No Comments

An Interview with Adlai Stevenson III: Part Five, The Death of Congressional Sanity

In this final section, I'll cover the portion of our talk in which we discussed the differences and distinctions in government between the House and Senate. Stevenson was a first-hand witness to their devolution for eleven years while a member of the Senate. Having won a special election in 1970 to serve out the remainder of a term vacated when a… Continue

Added by Kevin Camp on February 18, 2011 at 12:51pm — No Comments

An Interview with Adlai Stevenson III, Part Three: Religion in American Life

While in the midst of a discussion about the vast unchecked growth of the military, the subject of religion entered our interview. While on the subject, I mentioned that I am a Quaker, and opposed to the very existence of a military. We then began to chat briefly about the connection between church membership and political allegiance. Senator… Continue

Added by Kevin Camp on February 16, 2011 at 6:30am — No Comments

An Interview with Adlai Stevenson III, Part Two: The Role of the Media

Midway through our interview, Senator Stevenson spoke about the ways in which the mainstream media shortchanges the American people. While criticizing sound bite culture, as so many have before, his harshest words were for a mass media who, in his opinion, oversimplifies broader issues without taking the time to provide the full context to its… Continue

Added by Kevin Camp on February 15, 2011 at 10:17am — No Comments

An Interview with Adlai Stevenson III, Part One: Government Transparency

Editor's Note:

Earlier this week I had the great honor to be able to interview former Illinois Senator Adlai E. Stevenson III. He is promoting a new book entitled The Black Book, in which he summarizes a career spent in public service as well as sharing his thoughts about the current day. We covered a lot of ground in… Continue

Added by Kevin Camp on February 14, 2011 at 6:30am — No Comments

Risking Failure is Sometimes the Only Option

Valentine's Day will be upon us shortly, so I thought I'd give voice to something that has been my mind recently. This past week I've been reflecting upon the challenges of communication between people. I attended a party last weekend, whereby I silently observed the behavior of those who showed up. What I found particularly interesting were the ways in which flirtation and sexual interest manifested themselves. The gathering was comprised of young, educated, socially conscious,…

Continue

Added by Kevin Camp on February 10, 2011 at 7:30am — No Comments

Super Bowl Ads: One Small Step for Man

Last year's slue of Super Bowl commercials put a new spin on tired traditions. Hyper-masculinity was predictably glorified and exaggerated, women were shown to be little more than sexual objects, and blatant homophobia was present in a variety of ads. Each catered to an overarching idea that traditional masculinity was under attack from women,… Continue

Added by Kevin Camp on February 7, 2011 at 8:26am — No Comments

The Male Ally Progress Report

In the beginning, when I tried my hand at contributing to Feminist discourse, I had one simple goal. I wanted to known as the male ally who got it. Or, in other words, I wished to be the man who really understood. Having been equally as sickened and repulsed by misogyny, sexism, and violence against women, I wanted to be a shining example of a male not discouragingly indebted to these problematic issues. Egocentrism was not my ulterior motive; even though positive reinforcement from… Continue

Added by Kevin Camp on February 4, 2011 at 6:30am — No Comments

Shaken

It was my intention to post something else today, but I am unable to do so. I'm too otherwise distracted. In this circumstance, cleaving to the old aphorism of writing what one knows might be the soundest suggestion. Right now, I'm still recovering. Yesterday morning it seems that I had my second, and hopefully last hypertensive crisis. Though my pulse rate did reach as high as 120 beats per minute, blood pressure never reached… Continue

Added by Kevin Camp on February 2, 2011 at 11:00am — No Comments

Latest Blog Posts

Monthly Archives

2012

November (1)
September (1)
August (4)
July (6)
June (3)
April (3)

2011

December (4)
November (4)
October (10)
September (10)
August (10)
July (11)
June (15)
May (15)
April (10)
March (12)
February (13)
January (14)

2010

December (12)
November (15)
October (12)
September (19)
August (17)
July (10)

Welcome to
She Writes

Sign Up
or Sign In

Or sign in with:

Latest Activity

Jacky Ievoli commented on the group 'Novelists (Struggling or Not)'

"Thank you all so much for the advice. TD, I like the idea of skipping to the end. I'm going to give that a try. And Linda. Seems smart to walk away. Thank you all. I feel a bit more encouraged. "

14 minutes ago

T. D. Hassett added a discussion to the group Novelists (Struggling or Not)

What to do when you don't like your book cover

I recently had my first novel published and must admit that while there isn't anything artistically wrong with the cover I just don't feel like it properly sells the story. The cover is for an contemporary erotic romance but it looks more like a…See More

20 minutes ago

0 Comments 0 Likes

AJ Wiliams left a comment for Ericka Gael Johnson

"thanks for the friendship look forward to getting to know you"

22 minutes ago

Linda Watkins commented on the group 'Novelists (Struggling or Not)'

"I find that at about 30k words, it's good to step away for awhile. At this point I usually skip to the end and flesh that out. Then when you come back to your story, you have a better idea of where you're going and how to get there."

27 minutes ago