David L. Atkinson's Blog, page 113

Poetry Thursday 118 - How hard it is going to school!

People often ask where inspiration comes from and in fact there is no easy answer. It can actually come from anywhere but what is really significant is that it is the receiver's perception of a situation that matters.
I was out walking one morning when I passed by a number of high school pupils making their way to school when I noticed the faces of the children and something clicked regarding the day they were about to face and the poem below came out.
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Children versus school
You see the faces when on their wayin groups or all alone,walking with collective laughing brayor fearful scowl when they are one.
As the gates that bind the dayclose behind their young backsthey advance to hear the teacher sayof their work, that nothing lacks.
Then they break to go and playand avoid the attention of the bully,hoping for their friends to saythat all at school is jolly.
“What fun that we will have todayso don’t take long with your food!”Out to the playground, a sea of greythat doubles for desert or field or wood.
Then finally released to retrace the waythat brought them to their schooland avoid relating negative frayto parents, who ever followed the rule.
To hopefully sleep the night awaythey stay up as long as they canknowing the traps of the inevitable daywill come round once again.© David L Atkinson July 2014

God Bless

Writing - Truth can enhance fiction

Inspiration comes from lots of sources. For example, I wrote a poem recently, which I'll share on Thursday, that came from observing a child's expression as she walked to school. More of that later. However, I was listening to the local weatherman on the news when he used the term 'noctilucent' in relation to clouds, a term I've never heard before. Read on.

Noctilucent clouds above Scarborough
This cloud formation is apparently produced when the sun shines on ice crystals 50 miles above the Earth's surface and usually occurs during the summer. A natural phenomenon that could well generate a number of stories or poems.
Haiku
Summer clouds
Noctilucent cloudsShining on summer's beachesA chilling portent© David L Atkinson July 2014
I love the way haiku allows an immediate response to a situation.
 Spring Steel Technology
A pop-up tent
The use of spring steel to produce everyday objects has given the opportunity for pop-up tents, mops and umbrellas to name a few applications. I'm sure Patrick Steele would love some pop-up equipment in his fight against injustice.
When we write we need to be aware of the location of our stories in the time and technology continuum and then to provide an environment in which the story may take place. Obviously, this is relevant in mirror image for historical novels and needs further enhancement for SF. Consider a virtual watch, digital carpets and pneumatic trousers in your future writing. The pneumatic pants are actually used for blood loss and pelvic fracture cases.

On VG today.

http://venturegalleries.com/serial/death-went-with-us-into-the-woods/
God Bless

Tuesday Recipe - Liver stroganoff (adapted)

I know that I've included this recipe in the past but between, Wimbledon Finals, Grande Depart of the Tour de France in Yorkshire, World Cup and the British Grand Prix, things have been busy this weekend. On top of that Saturday was given over to celebrate the ordination of good friends as deacon. There's the big fella third from the left and the lady at the end on the left.


Congratulations to all!
So all the activity left little time for cooking therefore I decided on liver stroganoff as something quick and tasty. As a footnote this recipe originally came from a healthy eating source!
Liver Stroganoff
This meal has so much goodness that it's bouncing with health. I appreciate that liver is not to everyone's taste but as the meat is cut into quite thin strips it is less over-facing than a large piece of liver. I have also added peas, another one of the 5-a day requirements and the rice is whole grain. The only really unhealthy parts to the meal are butter for frying the onions and creme fraiche for the sauce. NB. I did use 'lite' creme fraiche. 
The full recipe is on the relevant Tab
God Bless

Writing - For those who love the English Language

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Homographs are words of like spelling but with more than one meaning. A homograph that is also pronounced differently is a heteronym. Get ready!    You think English is easy?? I think a retired English teacher was bored...however, THIS IS GREAT!       1) The bandage was wound around the wound.      2) The farm was used to produce produce.      3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.      4) We must polish the Polish furniture..      5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.      6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert      7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.      8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.      9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.      10) I did not object to the object.      11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.      12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.      13) They were too close to the door to close it.      14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.      15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.      16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.      17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.      18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.      19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.      20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?        Let's face it - English is a crazy language:      There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger;  neither apple nor pine in pineapple.      English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France.      Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, but rather, they are the animal  thymus glands.. 
We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly: boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.  And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?  If teachers taught, why don't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell.  How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which an alarm goes off by going on.  English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of  course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.  PS. - Why doesn't 'Buick' rhyme with 'quick'?
God Bless

Writing - 10 things we didn't know last week

There is some seriously weird stuff this week.
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1. Detainees at Guantanamo are allowed to watch the World Cup but don't see it live - it is made available a day later to ensure nothing subversive can be conveyed.

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2. Kangaroos use their tails as a third leg.


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3. When making a decision, former England and Derbyshire fast bowler Devon Malcolm asks himself: "What would Margaret Beckett do?"


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Really?

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4. Marinading meat in beer before a barbecue cuts the number of harmful particles that form on the meat.


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5. Paul Weller's guilty pleasure is to watch a rom-com with a plate of After Eights.


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6. The gene that helps Tibetans live at altitude comes from an extinct human species, the Denisovans.


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7. Wild chimps communicate 19 specific messages to one another with a "lexicon" of 66 gestures.

Rather like Newcastle Utd supporters!
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8. Lord Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, spends up to 40 minutes a day squatting and repeating an Eastern Orthodox prayer.


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9. Hail nets - common in wine-growing areas - are banned in Burgundy.


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10. Men would rather give themselves electric shocks than be left alone with their thoughts.


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God Bless

Writing - Reading is such a valuable activity

As a writer of course I'm going to say that reading is a valuable activity, I want people to read my books. However, consider its value.
EducationalEntertainingCheap - the books can last foreverRelaxingSafe - You don't need a hard hat and hi-viz vest to read.

The National Literacy Trust has sponsored an idea of making 50 benches in London into open pages of books ranging from Peter Pan to Day of the Triffids.

Cartoonist Ralph Steadman and How To Train Your Dragon creator Cressida Cowell are among those taking part. "I am so excited to have designed a How to Train Your Dragon book bench and to be part of the National Literacy Trust's Books about Town campaign to celebrate the wealth of writing and illustrating talent in this country," said Cowell, who is known for illustrating her own books.
"I am hoping Books about Town will remind Londoners on the streets of the joy of reading books."


James Bond is celebrated.
The benches, such as the one below inspired by Always Try To Be A Little Kinder Than Is Necessary, are designed to show how children and adults can find the art of reading fun and inspiring. 

I would add just one more argument for reading. The position would seem to be against electronic gadgets, but as you can use them for reading it isn't really. The charge 'kids like instant gratification from their sources of entertainment has made reading unpopular' is a bit of a cop out. It gives an excuse to shrug the shoulders and avoid the subject but what I would say is what gratification is more instant than the imagination clicking into gear and being engaged by a story? The youth of today play games for hours that are basic story scenarios so they have the stamina to read so let's encourage it by talking about imagination.
Another comment that hasn't changed for youngsters is the one which has been an implied criticism of reading - 'He/She has always got his/her head in a book' - could be adapted by taking out book and replace it with the appropriate electronic device! 
We should just encourage the reading by doing it ourselves, talking about it and leaving books around our houses, for children to see and use.
On VG today:
http://venturegalleries.com/serial/she-explained-in-pained-whispers-what-had-happened/God Bless

Writing - Some Independence Day Info

4th July is the day on which the USA celebrates its adoption of the Declaration of Independence from the UK and dates back to 1776.


It really wasn't the 4th but the 2nd July when the Declaration was made, nor was it the date the American Revolution began - that was April 1775. So a couple of facts already that differ from tradition. That in itself is not unusual. 4th July was the day on which the final draft was produced after editing the Declaration so the choice is logical enough.However, it wasn't until 1870 that the day became a national holiday.


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Other things you may not know about Independence Day

Three of the first five president's died on 4th July


1863: Vicksburg VictoryAfter one month, 15 miles of trenches, countless battles, near-constant bombing, Confederate Gen. John Pemberton surrendered to Union forces at Vicksburg, Miss. That surrender, on July 4, 1863 would mark a turning point in the Civil War, when the scales tipped in the North's favor.The South did not surrender for another two years. The town of Vicksburg refused to celebrate the Fourth of July for the next 81 years.[image error]The Statue of Liberty was presented by the French to the USA on 4th July 1884President Obama's daughter Malia was born on the 4th fourteen years ago.Finally in 2011, a group hacked the twitter account of the White House and announced that President Obama had become the 4th president to die on independence day having been shot in Iowa. In fact he was at the White House barbecuing.Whatever your take on the day and no matter whether you're in the states or elsewhere in the world have a great day.God Bless

Poetry Thursday 117 - What car?

So I'm seriously considering changing my car and there are some thoughts on that topic below.
Haiku
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Target Vehicle

White Kia RioIced diamond modern designCheap Korean jobs.© David L Atkinson July 2014

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Drive my car
I want to drive my brand new carI want to drive my car
The gleaming, diamond white new wheelswith my name on the logis waiting, panting for the dealsthen I can engage the cog.
I want to drive my brand new carI want to drive my car
A snow coloured, transparent bullethaving its innards carefully honedready for my caressing footto propel it forward newly owned.
I want to drive my brand new carI want to drive my car
An expensive toy no good without mecalls for a driver’s attention.Why disappoint that fractured familywith no courage of conviction?
I want to drive my brand new carI want to drive my car
Sign on the dotted line and drive it awaythat gleaming, dazzling car.Be happy in the purchase for at least a dayand plan journeys to places afar.
I want to drive my brand new carI want to drive my car© David L Atkinson July 2014

God Bless

Writing - Explosion of English in India

Language is the foundation of writing for all who undertake a journey into the realms of producing stories or poetry. The use of English words in the midst of other languages is not unusual, years ago I was told that the German equivalent of corduroy trousers was Manchesterhosen, and we also use foreign words such as curry, which is gravy in Sri Lanka. So it is not surprising that such cross-fertilisation occurs but according to Professor Craig Jeffrey it is huge in India.

Anyone who travels beyond Delhi and Mumbai to India's provincial cities will notice English words cropping up increasingly in Hindi conversation. While some of these terms fell out of use in the UK decades ago, others are familiar, but used in bold new ways.
In 1886 Henry Yule and Arthur Burnell published Hobson-Jobson, a guide to words from Indian languages that had passed into English.
You can search through it for references to the origins of words such as "shampoo" and "bungalow". But now many Indian citizens are using English words in the course of talking Hindi - or Tamil, or Bengali etcetera.

There are many influences on every language and in my opinion the social media that is available must take some responsibility but there is also Bollywood. Recent film releases are "Shaadi ke side effects" (marriage's side effects), "Love, breakups, zindagi" (love, breakups, life) and "Main Tera Hero" (I am your hero). Of course there is the inventiveness of people to add to external influences and their use of language can be amusing and useful to writers to create authenticity.
For example and I quote Professor Jeffrey, timepass!

""Timepass" means passing time. "What are you doing?" I've asked college-going friends in India. "Kuch nahin, bas timepass" ("Nothing, just timepass") comes the flat reply. Youth boredom is such a problem in large parts of provincial north India that young people refer to their whole lives as "timepass".

  Professor wrote 'Timepass' because.
He was inspired to write it by the large numbers of lower-middle-class college students waiting at the tea stall in the northern city of MeerutHe wrote: "These men spend much of their day in what they called 'timepass' (passing time). As one young man put it: 'Time has no value in India. We are just passing the time: hoping something better is round the corner.'"The subsequent spin offs are wide and varied.Peanut sellers at railway stations also shout "timepass" as they hawk their wares up and down station platforms. Shelling and eating peanuts is a good way to break the tedium of long journeys. A company (called Britannia Industries ironically) has developed a series of salty snacks called "Timepass".
In 2006 a leading underwear manufacturer in India, launched a new brand of "VIP" underpants and its entire marketing campaign was based around the humble English word "adjust". 

The television ad for the pants begins with a man sitting on a milepost waiting for a bus. Another man walks up and asks the first man to "adjust" slightly, so that he can share the seat. We also see people squeezing into a tiny space on a train, a man barging his way to the front of a queue for cinema tickets, and people clambering onto the roof of a bus.
A voiceover cuts in: "How often in life do we have to adjust?" It asks in Hindi, but using the English word "adjust". "But with our underwear it is different. The fit is so great, there is no need to adjust."
The final punchline is that VIP are India's first "hands-free underpants". Men no longer have to adjust their crotches in public, because the underpants fit so well.




Being aware of such regional changes when writing dialogue adds verisimilitude.
God Bless

Tuesday Recipe - Pork chop on warm potato salad.

Pork Chop on warm potato salad
I fancied revisiting one of Rachel Khoo's recipes with the addition of the pork chop to make a supper or snack into a main meal. The combination of apple and black pudding go well with pork. Hence the second effort below with the pork pie.
Who ate all the pies?
This recipe is very tasty but definitely not slimming. It does have apple which is one of your 5 a day!
The full recipe for the salad is on the Tab.