the video montage included scenes of Tienanmen Square set to "Don't worry, be happy"

There are no words.

Where at the ceremony, Betsy?

Reno, Nevada, at the Reno Hilton, Kat. The Rita Awards are the climactic event of the convention; they are presented Saturday night. This was the 25th-anniversary RWA awards, so they gave us something to remember.

It is perhaps a sad commentary on me that I find the icons, nicknames, and other flashing things on the linked to message board almost as appalling as the RWA presentation. They do seem to be able to spell, thank heavens.

Huh, so here's this big ceremony in a big giant ball room and someone thinks that the presentation described was appropriate? wow. that's just appalling.

Did you see the whole thing? What was reaction in the room like? Did it seem that the majority of the people were upset?

I guess I just can't imagine it at all.

Wow, Betsy. I wish they had called Maya to put it together. She's a big fan of romance writing and wouldn't have allowed that to happen.

Update on the crash in Toronto. They all got out.

TORONTO - A jetliner carrying 309 people skidded off a runway while landing in a thunderstorm at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, sliding into a ravine and bursting into flames. All passengers and crew members survived the fiery crash, jumping out of the plane before the fire broke out.

[link]

I just found out about the GH/RITA ceremony today, and I swear if I could resign my national membership and still participate in my local and Regency-interest chapters, I would. And much as I loathe and am bored by organizational politics, I mean to ask around and figure out how to elect new officers and board members who won't perpetrate this kind of travesty in the future.

As usual, the conversation I'm interested in has moved on by the time I read it...

Someone did once come up to me and tell me that she would pray for me (rumor being that I was an atheist). I knew the girl, hypocrite that she was. I told her to go ahead and do it right here; this streetcorner was as good as any other.

Makes my blood boil. Why do they need to tell me about it, unless it's to let me know how much better they are than me?

My problem is that I've met more than enough insane believers of all stripes, I can't help but think that their type is as least as common, if not moreso, than the non-craxy types.

Nah, they're just louder. How can you tell if everyone in the checkout line but you is a devout and respectful believer in their faith? It's the people who try and change your lives with their religion that get noticed.

Fair point (as was discussed earlier). Though Teh Craxy still seems as common as rocks.

I tend to agree with ita that they're louder. I know the craxy atheists I've met are louder than the normal ones. I also think the crazies tend to get held up as the example, by people who are opposed to not only them, to but to the people who hold the larger world view of which they're a small part.

I have run across fewer craxy agnostics, or at least people identifying as agnostic, while getting their craxy on, than I have craxees of any other group. But that's always true.

People who don't have fire, don't burn. People who don't care about politics don't talk much about politics. People who don't care about baseball don't talk much about baseball. People who didn't watch Buffy don't talk about Buffy (or argue, or 'ship characters, or get in shipper wars, or take ads out in newspapers, or buy the creators goats).