Monday, October 30, 2006

Resolution

Back from CSU today (Colorado State University vet practice -- the Mayo Clinic for dogs, really) with Rukh. Our vet had referred us initially to a vet specialty practice, who immediately sent us on to CSU because there were opportunities for clinical studies that Rukh might qualify for, and which might offer a better prognosis than standard treatment.

The vets at CSU confirmed the diagnosis of osteosarcoma, even without a bone biopsy; his signs and xrays are perfect examples of osteosarcoma in the tibia. The joint is really swollen now, and he's gotten progressively worse over the last week, despite a few good days where he was walking around a bit. He's basically three-legging it most of the time now, when he works up the gumption to stand up and go somewhere.

They did another set of chest xrays (clear! No signs of metastasis in this set) and went through our options.

  • pain treatment only (nsaids/narcotics) -- 1-2 months
  • radiation -- palliative (2 sessions) -- 1-3 months
  • radiation -- treatment/palliative (20 sessions/30 days) -- 4-6 months
  • amputation -- 10% 1 year/0% 2 years
  • amputation with chemo -- 50% 1 year/ 30% 2 years

Most dogs are euthanized because of pain, and the only real way to alleviate the pain is amputation. Which, as the vet(s) explained to us today, is almost instantly less painful than the condition Rukh is in right now. Even the day of surgery, the reduction in pain from bone-pain to incision-pain is so dramatic that they are up and around immediately. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around that, but after talking to a few of the people there with dogs, it seems to be true.

So -- we are going forward with amputation of his rear leg, scheduled for Wednesday. We were not sure about it, but dogs really do seem to do well and barely even notice that they only have one rear leg (once they figure out how to balance). I'm still not sure how we'll deal with it, but all the data we have says that Rukh will be better. We'll start chemo about two weeks after surgery.

There were a couple of clinical trials at the university, but those that we felt comfortable with all had a delay before amputation (which was required by all) that was unnacceptable. We can't wait for 2-3 weeks before we do surgery, to see if drug A or drug B are useful. I'm not willing to bet on "should provide alleviation of pain" for the beastie.

Of course, with surgery on Wed, we can bring him home on Thursday, just in time for the Adorable Husband to go to a weekend-long seminar. He's been signed up for months now, and can't really miss it. He'll only be a few hours away, so he can come home if there's an emergency but otherwise, I'm on my own for the weekend. I'm not looking forward to that -- I can deal with wound care, I can, but I get awfully squicked out by the incision itself. Hopefully, the beastie will sleep most of the time and I can manage to get him outside by myself. They recommend a sling or towel to support him for a while. Yikes.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Good News and Bad

I talked to my sister last night, and she is getting married! She has known her fiance for about two years, although they have been dating only for a few months. I have never met him, but he sounds like a good guy, and the Adorable Husband and I are looking forward to meeting him. She's very excited, very happy, and I am excited for her.

However, for reasons that I will not explain here, I have never been more disappointed in my father than I am right now. Sigh.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Quick Update

I'm teaching class in Chicago this week, so just a quick update.

The Adorable husband took Rukh to the oncologist in Ft. Collins yesterday, and spent quite a bit of time talking through the options. The upside? He strongly recommended that we talk to CSU and the vet practice there, as they have a number of ongoing clinical trials that look very promising. Rukh would get state-of-the-art care, which hopefully have a better track record than the 'standard' treatment for cancer, and he would probably get that care for free. We have a higher commitment for tests and such, but we'll manage.

My only concern is that a) he is not in a trial that would risk him getting the 'no treatment/control group' option and that b) we always have the option to withdraw and end it when he is suffering. I don't think that either of these options is going to be a problem, but we're going in to talk to the docs on Monday to see if we qualify for any of the studies and if they actually do offer a better option.

Most still include amputation -- we're not sure that he'll be able to get around afterwards, but we've been assured by both our vet and the oncologist that it is the only surefire way to control pain, and that dogs are amazingly adaptable. I might not be so adaptable, but if it's the best option, we'll go for it. I just don't want him to go through surgery to amputate and then have weeks of recovery if the final prognosis is only a few months anyways. That seems unfair. But -- some of the trials are reporting early results of 1-2 years in remission. We don't know if any are appropriate, but we can hope. Our primary concern is that we control any pain. If we can do that and he's comfortable and happy enough laying on the couch watching TV with us, we'll do it.

More as I get more info. You can see the synopses of the trials at the Colorado State University site.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Vegemite

Apparently, the US is cracking down on the import of Vegemite (that yeasty-veggie spread that is so populate in Australia -- a relative of Marmite from England). It contains folate, which some obscure law in the US allows only bakers to use.

No worries about Nutella though.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Reconstructing HIstory

During an interview today on ABC’s This Week, President Bush tried to distance himself from what has been his core strategy in Iraq for the last three years. George Stephanopoulos asked about James Baker’s plan to develop a strategy for Iraq that is “between ’stay the course’ and ‘cut and run.’”

Bush responded, ‘We’ve never been stay the course, George!’ Watch it here

And then, please, recall that Bush has OFTEN argued that we are going to "stay the course". Does he think we're stupid? That we'll forget what he says? Do these people not understand that nowadays that there are machines that can record your voice and replay what you actually said?

BUSH: We will stay the course. [8/30/06]

BUSH: We will stay the course, we will complete the job in Iraq. [8/4/05]

BUSH: We will stay the course until the job is done, Steve. And the temptation is to try to get the President or somebody to put a timetable on the definition of getting the job done. We’re just going to stay the course. [12/15/03]

BUSH: And my message today to those in Iraq is: We’ll stay the course. [4/13/04]

BUSH: And that’s why we’re going to stay the course in Iraq. And that’s why when we say something in Iraq, we’re going to do it. [4/16/04]

BUSH: And so we’ve got tough action in Iraq. But we will stay the course. [4/5/04]

Friday, October 20, 2006

Bad news today. The swelling on Rukh's ankle, which everyone (including the vet(s)) thought was a bad sprain is not a bad sprain. Or a break. It's the result of osteo-sarcoma -- bone cancer -- in his tibia just above the hock.

They did a series of x-rays today that definitely show a mass or shadowing in the bone with a characteristic starburst shape, which makes them both about 95% sure it's bone cancer. Our vet also took a set of chest xrays, which show that it has probably metastatized into his lungs, as this kind of cancer normally does. It's very fast growing, and extremely painful.

We're seeing a veterinary oncologist on Monday (well, the Adorable Husband is, since I am travelling for work and can't reschedule on such short notice) to see what the options are, what sorts of pain management we need to deal with...basically what's what.

My internet searches have been depressing. Primary treatment is for pain, since bone cancer is not really curable and only in a few cases will go into remission. Usually, amputation of the limb is the suggested course, followed by chemo and radiation. Even with chemo, it's 4-6 months for most dogs; and that's if it hasn't yet travelled to his lungs. I feel absolutely awful that he's been in pain for obviously a long time -- he just never let us know, never showed any signs of it ; only when he had a tendon injury/sprain did he really start acting like things hurt. We've been attributing his stiffness and kind of general malaise to arthritis and old age. He's 9 this month, pretty geriatric for a giant breed. We only put him on Rymadil in the last two months.

Poor beast. I just don't know what we're going to do. I'm glad that we have the resources to do whatever we decide, and hopefully the wisdom to know when it's too much, and too long.

We really need to raise poodles, or chihuahuas or some other little yappy beasts that live until they're 27. Not these big dogs that are with us for such a short time. But we won't, I know.

Damn. Just....damn.

{hur-my'-uh-nee}

I don't read a ton of Greek literature, but occassionally I do and I have to admit that the names throw me for a loop sometimes. I found a lovely site -- Encyclopedia Mythica -- which is not only a great source for the mythic stories, but has a handy pronunciation guide. It covers most of the Greek and Roman myths, some Celtic names, and some Native American stories, as well. Not comprehensive, but a good reference for the most common stuff.

I have to admit that even though I knew that Hermione was pronounced {hur-my'-uh-nee}, every time I read it in Harry Potter, I heard her-mee-ohne in my head. And, if you pick up the new YA series 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' by Rick Riordan (The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters) it's handy to know how to pronounce the Greek names

The Perks of Power

Two interesting bits from ThinkProgress today.

President Bush recess-appointed former coal industry executive Richard Stickler to head the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The Senate had twice refused to confirm him “because of his troubling mine safety record — the mines he managed from 1989 to 1996 incurred injury rates double the national average.”

“Moving quickly to implement” the new Military Commissions Act, the Bush administration “has formally notified the U.S. District Court here that it no longer has jurisdiction to consider hundreds of habeas corpus petitions filed by inmates at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.”

The American Red Cross came out today and said that the new law Bush rammed through congress to eliminate the due process of law for enemy combatants (which only Bush and his cohort can actually identify, at will, apparently) basically makes war crimes legal. Isn't that nice?

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Tuskless Elephants

I love Discovery Channel.

Apparently, poaching of African Elephants has forced the selection of elephants with no tusks -- accellerating the process of natural selection in evolution by thousand and thousands of years. There have always been elephants with small or non-existant tusks, but the rate is nearly 30% in some larger populations. Wikipedia sums it up nicely:
African ivory hunters, by killing only tusked elephants, have given a much larger chance of mating to elephants with small tusks or no tusks at all. The propagation of the absent-tusk gene has resulted in the birth of large numbers of tuskless elephants, now approaching 30% in some populations (compare with a rate of about 1% in 1930). Tusklessness, once a very rare genetic abnormality, has become a widespread hereditary trait.

No Wonder we're Fat

Give it another few months. Eventually schoolkids will not be able to go outside at all, and will spend "recess" sitting at their desks with their hands folded.

A bit of hyperbole, of course, but schools in Attelboro, MA, Cheyenne, WY, and Spokan, WA have banned the outdoor game "tag" -- you know, one person is it, they chase the others around and when you are touched, you become It and chase the others. Everyone has played this game. It's a staple of every schoolyard the world over.

The school in Attleboro has banned tag, touch football, and any "chase games" apparently because they're afraid the kids will get hurt and parents will sue. Playing tag is, I believe, part of being a kid, and banning it smacks of micromanaging kids' lives and living in fear of our (admittedly overly-)litigious society. Some parents are pleased, and say their kids feel "safer" because they can no longer play at recess, others think the whole idea is silly, and sad.

Well, just what are the kids supposed to DO? Stand around in closely supervised groups and stare at each other? Play entirely alone, since no "contact" is allowed? This is getting a bit ridiculous.

Hopefully there is more to the story; perhaps there are plenty of supervised games at recess -- but I doubt it. Recess has always been a free-for-all, and I doubt that schools have the resources and personnel to monitor every single activity that occurs outside.

As Seen on TV

I'm working from home today, which means that the television is on in the background and I have to laugh a bit at the bizarre products that they hawk on TV. Daytime television seems to be worse than late-night (although there are a lot fewer semi-naked women in the ads)

So, up comes an ad for Quiktop -- a plastic topper/sealer and spout for cans of soda. You pop this thing on the top of your can and it "hermetically" seals, and gives you a nice rounded spout and lid so you can save your can of soda for "days".

Who in the hell is concerned about saving a half a can of Diet Coke? Who doesn't finish the whole can at once? I mean, the television ad suggests that you can store the cans for several days and never waste a can of soda again. Huh? This is a big enough problem that you want to spend twenty bucks or so on these things? Is the risk of cut fingers or cut lips (also mentioned in the ad) from the metaal edge of the can really that much of a problem?

The only reasonable thing I could see if giving it to a kid -- less likely to spill, I guess, but kids shouldn't really be drinking lots of soda anyways.

I just had to laugh. Of course, if I believed the television ads, there are a lot of people out there who are incapable of draining pasta, turning pancakes, and that sort of thing.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Gumby Beast

Well, one of the beasties has managed to badly sprain his (ankle? hock?) and it swelled up like a grapefruit. We took him to be groomed on Saturday and we think that he slipped while on the grooming table, or while he scrambled up the ramp to get into the tub.

He's pretty arthritic nowadays (he's already on Rimadyl just to keep him up and moving) and we told them he coudln't jump and probably was going to have a hard time. We're not sure what happened -- it could even have been when he jumped into the car to go in the first place -- but we've been to the vet and they now have him on some lovely morphine-based pain killers. All we know is that it must have hurt terribly, since he was actually whining. It's so hard to tell with these big northern breeds if they are in any pain...they simply ignore it and do whatever it is you ask them to do, regardless of how much it hurts. We were worried that he'd broken something (and indeed, will have him in for xrays this weekend because the swelling is not really going down). The vet says it's a bad sprain and he'll need 4-6 weeks of rest.

He's pretty pathetic, though. And stoned.

He's groggy enough that I can prop him up and then watch while he sloooooowly tips over and sprawls on the floor. Heh. I shouldn't laugh, really. I shouldn't.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Banque or Banc or Bank

Maybe it's an error, maybe it's a political statement, but the bank in Kazhakstan has printed out banknotes with the word 'bank' mispelled on them. Instead of the proper form of the letter K used by the Kazakhs (the Cyrillic form), it uses an alternate form that many feel denigrates the Kazahks and is a slur (as well as being pronounced slightly differently). Language has been an important expression of nationalism among the Kazakhs, since they broke from the Soviet state sin 1991, so using the "wrong" langauge may be an accident of translation, or it may be something more.

The parliament wants to prevent the notes from being put into circulation, but the bank has decided to release them and then slowly replace the notes with a corrected version in the coming months.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Promises Unkept

A key proposal for the Republicans "Contract with America" was an amendment to impose term limits on congress. When the amendment was proposed, seven members of the class of '94 pledged to limit themselves to twelve years in congress. In 2000, four more promised to leave after six years.

A promise is apparently not that important (at least not when it comes to retaining power). Of the ten members due to retire, not one is stepping down . Each is reneging on their campaign pledge and running again in 2006. According to the sourcewatch, The pledge-breakers are:
Rep. Barbara Cubin (R-Wyo.)
Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.)
Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.)
Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-Minn.)
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas)
Rep. Ric Keller (R-Fla.)
Rep. Timothy V. Johnson (R-Ill.)
Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.)
Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.)
Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.)
MyDD actually lists thirty who have gone back on campaign pledges or promises to self-impose term limits -- because every single one of the non-incumbent Republican congressional candidates signed the Contract -- which includes the Citizen Legislature Act, meant to limit every member of the congress to 12 years. They may not have explicitly promised in their campaign to limit themselves to 12 years, but they certainly signed on to the document when they thought it was going to help them.
The 10th plank of the Contract with America, which was signed by every single non-incumbent Republican Congressional candidate, is the Citizen Legislature Act. This was a proposed amendment to the Constitution that would have limited every member of the U.S. Congress (both houses) to twelve consecutive years of service

30 current House members are Republicans first elected in 1994. Only 5 of them are on CQ Politics's list of 8. That leaves 25 more who signed the Contract, which would have stopped them from seeking re-election. At last count, every single one of them was running
Perhaps they simply thought it was so long ago we'd all forget?

Having a COW

Among the Vote 2006 editorials, recommendations for state office, and the rest of the political notes that made up the issue of the Boulder Weekly this week, was a bit by Jim Hightower on the "Coalition of the Willing" in Iraq. Now I haven't heard much about this since Bush was touting it two years ago -- basically it's been proven to be such an embarassment that it only gets trotted out when they haven't got anything else to talk about.

There are 192 nations in the world. 48 joined the COW. (including leetle teeny places like Estonia and the Solomon Islands).

Of that 48, thirty-nine sent troops. Of the 39 who sent troops, 32 of them sent less than a thousand people (many sent only non-combat troops). Of the 39 who sent troops, 17 have already withdrawn, and another 7 are planning to in the next year.

Not really much of a coalition, and many of them only came because they were paid to.
It's received little publicity, but the Pentagon runs a special Coalition Solidarity Fund that slips payments to many COW members, essentially buying their involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Acccording to the article, in 2005, for example, we paid 57 million dollars to Poland for their involvement -- and in addition, built their camp and paid for their transportation.

From Wikipedia:

More than 100,000 troops - US
More than 1,000 troops - Australia, UK (7500), Korea (2300)
100-1000 troops - Poland, Romania, Georgia, Denmark, El Salvador, Azerbajan, Mongolia, Albania, Latvia, Slovakia
< 100 troops - Czeck Republic, Lithuania, Armenia, Boznia, Stonia, Macedonia, Kazahkstan, Moldova

Withdrawn in 2006 - Italy, Canada, Japan
Withdrawn in 2005 - Portugal, Netherlands, Ukraine, Bulgaria
Withdrawn in 2004 - Nicaragua, Spain, Hunduras, Dominacan Republic, Norway, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Hungary, New Zealand, tonga, iceland

Only Italy had more than 1000 troops involved.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Not so Anonymous

I just had the oddest phone call -- someone from a marketing firm ran across my website, apparently tracked down my phone number and called me regarding advertising opportunities on phouka.com.

I get a few of these offers in email each month, and just ignore them. It's a personal site, and I really don't muck about with ads or anything. I get decent enough traffic (due to the travelogues, I think), but certainly not enough to actually be worth an ad or two.

I'm just a bit weirded out that he had my phone number. My real name is not on the site at all, although I suppose he could probably have found it by using whois. Nope, just checked. No name. Somewhere, though, my name is associated with either the IP or the site. Odd.

I don't worry much about anonymity on the web, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I post with my real name on a number of forums, and with my alias Phouka on many more. It was just startling to get a phone call regarding my site.

Wierd.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Great Album

If you've never listened to Scissor Sisters, you're missing out on a couple of really fun albums. They just released their second album - Ta Dah --which is a 70-s disco romp of the best sort. The Week just reviewed the album -- which they say is
a blinding disco-ball beacon of hope for those who find the Pussycat Dolls a blight on the musical landscape ... The tracks are an enthusiastic mishmash of Elton John (who plays piano on two songs), ABBA, and the Bee Gees, each “as catchy as chlamydia.”
Yeah, it sounds odd, but the album really is fun.

It can be a bit raunchy -- not overly so, akthough they'd definitely be bleeped on the radio. But if you like early Elton John, the whole album has the same whimsical feel to it. I definitely recommend it (and their earlier eponymous album, Scissor Sisters.)

No Navigation System for the Husband!

This! This is why the Adorable Husband can never had one of those dash-mounted map navigation thingies in his car"

BERLIN (Reuters) - An 80-year-old German motorist obediently following his navigation system ignored a motorway "closed for construction" sign and crashed his Mercedes into a pile of sand further down the road, police said Monday.

"The driver was following the orders from his navigation system and even though there was a sufficient number of warnings and barricades.
Luckly, the driver was unhurt. But knowing that the Husband's eyeballs are magnetized and inexorably drawn to any glowing, tv-like screen, it's a recipe for disaster!

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Indoor Skydiving

We had our quarterly TUSC outing this Saturday an went Indoor Skydiving -- they call it 'bodyflight' and do it in an enormous vertical wind tunnel. The Adorable Husband had an absolute blast, and got to fly twice for two minutes each time. If you remember, he's been jumping out of actual airplanes lately, and says that you only get about 45 second of free-fall before you have to pull the ripcord -- having two whole minutes or more to just "fly" is terrific! They can vary the airflow from about 80 mph (for little kids) to almost 160 mph for the pros.

About 50 people from TUSC went, even little kids (who are surprisingly good at this, being overly bendy and fearless) . I definitely think that more minutes in the tower are going to be on the Adorable Husband's Xmas list!

Friday, October 06, 2006

Irony and Hypocrisy

Talk about timing. A father/daughter pair in TX are demanding that Fahrenheit 451 be banned from schools because it has 'lots of bad language' and 'takes god's name in vain'. I had to struggle pretty hard to think of what they're fixated on. There's some 'hells' and 'damns' in the book as well as some vulgar, but rather commonplace language. Nothing terribly shocking to most people.

The fact that Bradbury's book is actually a condemnation of censorship and book banning makes the whole story rather sad, doesn't it?

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Recommending Books

My post last week on commending readers and authors of challenged and banned books garnered exactly one comment. However, the commenter did rightly question my blanket statement of recommending books because they are banned. That's not quite the issue.

No, upsetting someone is not a good reason to recommend a book. However, I have read most of the books on the banned/challenged book list over the years and found them to be worthwhile and meaningful. Thought-provoking. Challenging. Inspiring. Many people do. I would hazard to say that most people do.

I find the reasons that these books have been challenged to be specious and narrow-minded. I find the idea that those who dislike a book or find part of it offensive should be able to prevent others from reading it, to be extremely distateful. It's one thing to want to censor your own reading list, quite another to decide that your morality must somehow be applied to everyone.

So, I commend those who continue to write books that challenge readers, and I commend readers who continue to read books in face of such censorship. Read -- disagree or agree, it makes no difference. Let your kids read it, or don't -- that is your business. But exposure to ideas that are different and perhaps uncomfortable is important.

There are books that are rightly shunned -- but censoring them, even if we disagree with them -- is dangerous. Would I recommend a book on the wonders of slavery? Probably not. Not every book has intrinsic value. But I will not join in any argument trying to remove it from the shelves, either. Those books that aren't valued for their content or message or voice aren't going to be around long enough to have much of an impact.

But I also don't see any of those on the list. What I do see on the list are classics of american literature, and books that address sex, free-thinking, and difficult topics. Books that have been long accepted as important works in their own right. Look at the list: these are not fringe-published screeds. Some of the classics in literature have been on this list at one time or another.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

At an actual client!

Yes, finally, I have been evicted from my comfortable, nearby home office and forced to trek out into the world and actually work at a client site.

I'm feeling quite put-upon, I'll tell you. Had to drive AN HOUR yesterday, because I mistimed traffic. It's really not that far, but leaving my house at 7:30 is not an option. In the last few years, traffic has increased so much on I25 south that it's impossible to get through the "North Valley" without sitting in stop-and-go traffic for half an hour or so.

The solution? Go to work at 6am. I might suggest that this is not going to happen. At least not in MY lifetime. Seven maybe, but heading out the door before that is not something that I think I'm capable of. The gentleman I'm working with comes in at 6am and works 4-tens. I can do the same (or, he says, work whatever schedule fits). He laughed when I told him that 6am isn't likely to happen unless ther eis some change in the laws of physics and I can transport here instantly so I can sleep until 5:55. Ah, well.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Banned Books week

This last week was Banned Book Week, a celebration of the books that have been suppressed, criticized, banned, burned, and maligned. Throughout this century, books such as 'Catcher in the Rye', 'Huck Finn' and other classic have been questioned, threatened, and often pulled from library and school book shelves by closed-minded people unable to appreciate differing opinions.
"Challenging" books involves a group or individual attempting to remove or restrict materials (banning is actually removing the books). Challenges are not just a complaint -- they are an attempt to remove material from curriculums and public venues and restrict access to the materials by others. WHile they're rarely burning books in the street anymore, challenges attempt to perform the same actions.

Seventy-one percent of the challenges were to material in schools or school libraries. Another twenty-four percent were to material in public libraries (down two percent since 1999). [from the American Library Assoc.]

The 10 most challenged books in 2005 are an eclectic list:
  • “It's Perfectly Normal” for homosexuality, nudity, sex education, religious viewpoint, abortion and being unsuited to age group;
  • “Forever” by Judy Blume for sexual content and offensive language;
  • “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger for sexual content, offensive language and being unsuited to age group;
  • “The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier for sexual content and offensive language;
  • “Whale Talk” by Chris Crutcher for racism and offensive language;
  • “Detour for Emmy” by Marilyn Reynolds for sexual content;
  • “What My Mother Doesn't Know” by Sonya Sones for sexual content and being unsuited to age group;
  • Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey for anti-family content, being unsuited to age group and violence;
  • “Crazy Lady!” by Jane Leslie Conly for offensive language; and
  • “It's So Amazing! A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families” by Robie H. Harris for sex education and sexual content.
Most frequently challenged authors in 2005:
  • Judy Blume, author of Blubber, Forever, and Deenie
  • Robert Cormier, author of The Chocolate War and We All Fall Down
  • Chris Crutcher, author of Whale Talk and The Sledding Hill
  • Robie Harris, author of It's Perfectly Normal and It's So Amazing!
  • Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, author of the Alice series
  • Toni Morrison, author of The Bluest Eye, Beloved and Song of Solomon
  • J. D. Sallinger, author of The Catcher in the Rye
  • Lois Lowry, author of The Giver
  • Marilyn Reynolds, author of Detour for Emmy
  • Sonya Sones, author of What My Mother Doesn’t Know
J.K Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, was the most challenged author between 2000 and 2005. Maya Angelou, John Steinbeck, Judy Blume have all been on the list for many years.
If you are an author with a book on this list, I commend you. You are in good company. If you are a reader, consider finding and reading these books to make your own decisions.