HALLOWEEN

 

I could not love Halloween to any greater degree than I do. I could try - but I would fail.

What books shall rise to the top of your tbr pile for Halloween reading this year? https://t.co/9gmwwSSxNA 📚📚 pic.twitter.com/F2bd8neuJG

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 25, 2021

The Axeman by Ray Celestin / NOS4A2 by Joe Hill / The Ruins by Scott B. Smith

https://t.co/oBvirwfe3K

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 13, 2021

Neil Gaiman's American Gods & The Ocean at the End of the Lane

https://t.co/lpEiOEYYI0

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 13, 2021

On the trail of Count Draculahttps://t.co/i5RPNugVe6

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 13, 2021

You can't get any creepier in choice of protagonists than Hitler and Satan. https://t.co/FXdYzAh1w5

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 13, 2021

Track down the 3 known copies of a Satanic text, determine which one is the original copy, summon Lucifer with it and become all powerful. https://t.co/KvKz64zyu2

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 14, 2021

Not only creepy...but this meticulously reseached book is based on true events.https://t.co/Xyzg3V2V5b

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 14, 2021

Many young kids love scary stories so long as they aren't TOO SCARY. Here's a gem read aloud.https://t.co/mVdOrjfFgw

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 13, 2021

I feature all sorts of books at #RoysBookReviews - even a coloring book on one occasion. But not just any coloring book. Trick or Treat?https://t.co/7Nn90AFuPR

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 13, 2021

AND NOW FOR SOME SHORT STORIES PENNED BY ME 

 Haunted

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 25, 2021

The Television 

A Line A Day: THE TELEVISION - A #SHORTSTORY https://t.co/Bu2gLCmd9Y pic.twitter.com/Jcf4CaoaH2

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 25, 2021

The Elevator Ride 

The Elevator Ride - a #shortstory pic.twitter.com/f4Z9YLBhHM

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 25, 2021

And now for a leisurely boat ride down the River Styx.

 

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WHAT'S YOUR PREFERENCE? TRICK OR TREAT?

Oh look - it's Ava Appelsawse!

Check out the skilled hands of the illustrator of The Absolutely Amazing Adventures of Ava Appelsawse

My author portrait may be in need of a good dusting

Who likes to play with dolls?

I tried to kiss and make up

I don't think my apology was accepted

Be wary of what may be found in that Mystery Meat Taco

See how high she flies - She's got the moon in her eyes

Somebody was a big fan of being posed for photo ops.

Expelliarmus

Halloween theme imagery bookmarked at Pinterest

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Jon Gruden Fails Email-101

 

Gruden has the right to be a jerk. We have the right to approve or disapprove of his beliefs. Raiders have the right to ask for resignation or else for nothing more than an insincere public apology while continuing to employ him. Maybe the #NFL could punish in some way, maybe not

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 12, 2021

In other words, nobody had their rights trampled upon. There was no injustice. Gruden did what he did, eventually it came to light, and his boss chose to cut ties rather than deal with the PR nightmare that would be sure to follow if he remained on the sideline. End of story.

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 12, 2021

Michael Vick is trending but Jon Gruden's situation has absolutely nothing to do with Vick's no matter how far one stretches to equate them. https://t.co/xRexmnNaJ3 https://t.co/mk7xMm3zwS https://t.co/XkehZVRGvu

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 12, 2021

As for comparisons to the plight of Colin Kaepernick, all we've learned is that Jon Gruden did not approve of his kneeling to protest injustice. We already know (unless you're an ass) that Kaep isn't treasonous & that his heart was in the right place. https://t.co/EbPiEKzhKn

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 12, 2021

I do feel that after the blatant blackballing of Colin Kaepernick dragged on unreasonably long, plus the #NFL settled with him monetarily & probably quite generously, fighting injustice replaced a return to pro football as Kaep's top priority. So be it. https://t.co/Gd6rnsmleW

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 12, 2021

What struck me about the Gruden emails was the casualness -- so comfortable with the language and attitudes of misogyny, racism & homophobia that he and cronies put it in writing over years. That tells us plenty about the culture in which he was operating. https://t.co/zQrop2ptE1

— Judy Battista (@judybattista) October 12, 2021

This is real? I guess they released the milder stuff first and will keep unloading emails until finally getting around to the ones where he admits to being the true Zodiac Killer. https://t.co/DbgtN7SCFu

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 12, 2021

Surely Urban Meyer has had large bouquets of flowers sent to Kyrie Irving and Jon Gruden.

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 12, 2021

They'll form a partnership with a Black Icon like Jay-Z. Oh no wait, been there done that already.

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 12, 2021

You want a serious answer rather than an unserious NFL / Jay-Z partnership https://t.co/5VLdIB5JdZ ? Maybe the Rooney Rule will be looked at again with aim to give it more muscle. https://t.co/RHirSkIf6R Or maybe more flags thrown for N-word usage https://t.co/koueqq6Uyc

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 12, 2021

Rather than shedding light on attitudes and actions of #NFL owners, GM's and coaches - the league might prefer that we focus on important stuff like personalized jerseys. Remember this mess? The NFL's Naughty Words List: https://t.co/FrqGsPG1II

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 12, 2021

I think we all grasp Gruden's political leanings by this point.

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 13, 2021

Lesson: Keep your pettiness offline. Just because you can delete old emails, tweets, facebook posts, what have you, doesn't mean they can' come back at any moment to bite you on the ass.

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 12, 2021

He made a hashtag https://t.co/3HgVlUWON7

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 12, 2021

A Line A Day: CANCEL CULTURE https://t.co/boajhofX1z

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 12, 2021

Cops continuing to kill unarmed Black people for suspicious non-Whiteness is what did that. Gruden's just gravy.

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 12, 2021

The story did indeed continue to play out. https://t.co/wEDytVUtl0

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 12, 2021

Probably not. But if they do, if their friendships with Gruden are stronger than their disapproval of his a-hole emails, so be it. I wasn't surprised they said he never acted racist directly in front of them b/c they're black & bigots usually do that sh*t in secret.

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 12, 2021

NFL coaches deleting emails from their hotmail accounts right now pic.twitter.com/0vJJwJhhXh

— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) October 12, 2021

Turns out the problem was with Gruden's emails, not Hillary Clinton's.

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 12, 2021

The NFL does not intend to publicly release any written materials related to the investigation into the Washington Football Team, per @MarkMaske.

So an 11-month investigation involving hundreds of witnesses and 650,000+ emails led us to Jon Gruden's awful emails. Nothing on WSH.

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 12, 2021

“Somebody wanted Gruden gone…it’s very weird there was a mission to make sure he was no longer in the NFL” pic.twitter.com/I8NKyWEpNd

— Raider Nation Boston (@RaiderNationBOS) October 12, 2021

Attorneys for 40 former Washington Football Team employees released a statement, calling it “truly outrageous … the only person to be held accountable and lose their job is the coach of the Las Vegas Raiders” and calling for the NFL to release full findings of the investigation. pic.twitter.com/MlgzWA2uMc

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 12, 2021

The Bruce Allen emails include Adam Schefter sending Allen an unpublished story during the 2011 lockout and asking if anything "should be added, changed, tweaked." https://t.co/6yVnMctGu4

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) October 13, 2021

Jon Gruden and Adam Schefter out here catching ricochet shots for an investigation into...Dan Snyder. People forget that.

— Isaac (@WorldofIsaac) October 13, 2021

Everyone in the #NFL has skeletons in their closet, except of course for Dan Snyder. Line A Day: I'm not Mr. PC... https://t.co/ZFb0PsDvX7

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 13, 2021

This is a good point. The NFL basically announced they have a massive trove of blackmail against half the league and will use it against anyone who wrongs them. That's... neither good nor healthy. https://t.co/m7Y5IZxgz6

— Jason J. Voorhees (@BayAreaData) October 12, 2021

The #NFL has always had trouble fairly dispensing justice. Many are complaining that they've welcomed criminals back to play in the league but Gruden got booted for emails. Cry me a river. Gruden will be just fine. But you can't lead men that you've insulted with your ignorance.

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 13, 2021

A Line A Day: When Sports and Social Issues Collide https://t.co/xpgYIoAxJm

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 12, 2021

pic.twitter.com/TzByw4TtF9

— Roy L. Pickering Jr. (@AuthorofPatches) October 12, 2021

Statement below from Jon Gruden’s attorney, Adam Hosmer-Henner, who filed the complaint Thursday in Clark County, Nevada court. Gruden is seeking damages on seven claims, as well as punitive damages and attorneys’ fees. pic.twitter.com/FsRocrutd2

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 12, 2021