Mao

Aw...spring is here. In mid March...which is a bit strange, but who are we to complain? I've decided that I'm going to quit smoking, start jogging again, and get into sick shape. I kind of want to look like Tim Urban from American Idol. God...that body is fucking amazing. I wouldn't own a single shirt if I looked like that. If I could vote, I would vote for him. I mean, he sucks, but my lord. And the hair! Anytime my hair gets to long I look homeless.

Anywho, the reason my title is "Mao" is because I just got done reading a fantastic biography: Mao The Unknown Story. I would highly suggest it to anyone with even a mild interest in history or modern day China. It follows Mao (the man who brought communism to China after World War 2) through his life as a peasant boy to his lonely death. He is responsible for the death of an estimated 70 million people, which makes him, in sheer cost of human life, worse than either Stalin or Hitler. Now, the book is being fiercely debated, with some people calling it rubbish. I don't know, I checked out some of the numbers, and while the authors do state the higher figures in their estimates, every event they record is completely true. I think the problem for a lot of people is the tone the writers take. It's unabashed hate. Which...worse than Hitler. I don't care if the man is still worshiped in China (which makes China pretty damn scary) he was a monster.

Wow...that was a huge block of text. Lets move on. With no writing yesterday, I decided to go full steam ahead today. I've applied for a non paying job, a paying job, and am still working on my entry in the Canadian Writer's Journal short fiction contest.

I'm kind of excited about the non paying gig. I've submitted a short story that I feel is pretty damn good, but no one seems to want to publish. I don't know, maybe it's the case of loving your child so much you don't realize he's been sniffing glue. If it's not published, I'm publishing it here. Someone, somewhere has to love my glue sniffing baby like I do.

Alright, back to work.

Your friend,

McGonz