David L. Atkinson's Blog, page 57
January 26, 2016
Writing - There is culture in the North.
There seems to be a belief in the media and those who live in the south east corner of the UK that the north is full of cultural philistines. This blog will go some way to prove them wrong. Seaham Harbour, now just known as Seaham lies on the coast 6 miles south of Sunderland. It had a very famous visitor a few years ago and has erected a statue to commemorate that association.
[image error]Lord Byron, Seaham
The 9ft-tall wooden figures depict the Romantic poet and Annabella Milbanke dancing at their wedding at Seaham Hall in 1815. The couple separated in 1816.
Given a permanent home between Byron Place Shopping Centre and Church Street, the public art was created by local artist David Gross.
Historian Carol Hindmarch said the time Byron spent in the town 200 years ago was "very important" to the area.
She said: "Although Lord Byron wasn't in Seaham for a particularly long length of time, whilst he was here he wrote some of his most important pieces.
"He wrote what was called the Hebrew Melodies... I'm sure he was probably inspired by the landscape while he was here for some of that writing."
Born George Gordon Noel, Byron was the ideal of the Romantic poet but also gained notoriety for his scandalous lifestyle.The Hebrew Melodies is a collection of songs and poems written by Byron and the songs set to Jewish tunes by Nathan Isaac. Published by John Murray in 1815 at the high price of 1 guinea, it sold over 10 000 copies.
Examples
She walks in Beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow’d to that tender light
Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.
Then there is huge cultural influence on all of us from the north west of the country. Beatrix Potter was ignored by traditional publishers and ended up publishing her works herself. It was then rather annoying that some 'bright young thing' of the publishing world was waxing lyrical about the discovery of a recently discovered Potter manuscript. They will publish it in September.
[image error]
The new story, Kitty-in-Boots, was written over 100 years ago. Quentin Blake, the Roald Dahl illustrator, is to illustrate this story. She sent the story to her publisher in 1914, saying it was about "a well-behaved prime black Kitty cat, who leads rather a double life".The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots also features an appearance from an "older, slower" version of Peter Rabbit.Such is the ageing process.Although BP was born into privilege she was educated as a governess and worked in Scotland and the Lake District. She made enough money to buy Hill Top Farm in the latter at Near Sawrey. As she became more wealthy she purchased more farms to preserve the countryside in her area and much of that is contained in the Lake District National Park. She left much of her property to the National Trust.
So you southerners, read this and weep!
God Bless
[image error]Lord Byron, Seaham
The 9ft-tall wooden figures depict the Romantic poet and Annabella Milbanke dancing at their wedding at Seaham Hall in 1815. The couple separated in 1816.
Given a permanent home between Byron Place Shopping Centre and Church Street, the public art was created by local artist David Gross.
Historian Carol Hindmarch said the time Byron spent in the town 200 years ago was "very important" to the area.
She said: "Although Lord Byron wasn't in Seaham for a particularly long length of time, whilst he was here he wrote some of his most important pieces.
"He wrote what was called the Hebrew Melodies... I'm sure he was probably inspired by the landscape while he was here for some of that writing."
Born George Gordon Noel, Byron was the ideal of the Romantic poet but also gained notoriety for his scandalous lifestyle.The Hebrew Melodies is a collection of songs and poems written by Byron and the songs set to Jewish tunes by Nathan Isaac. Published by John Murray in 1815 at the high price of 1 guinea, it sold over 10 000 copies.
Examples
She walks in Beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow’d to that tender light
Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.
Then there is huge cultural influence on all of us from the north west of the country. Beatrix Potter was ignored by traditional publishers and ended up publishing her works herself. It was then rather annoying that some 'bright young thing' of the publishing world was waxing lyrical about the discovery of a recently discovered Potter manuscript. They will publish it in September.
[image error]
The new story, Kitty-in-Boots, was written over 100 years ago. Quentin Blake, the Roald Dahl illustrator, is to illustrate this story. She sent the story to her publisher in 1914, saying it was about "a well-behaved prime black Kitty cat, who leads rather a double life".The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots also features an appearance from an "older, slower" version of Peter Rabbit.Such is the ageing process.Although BP was born into privilege she was educated as a governess and worked in Scotland and the Lake District. She made enough money to buy Hill Top Farm in the latter at Near Sawrey. As she became more wealthy she purchased more farms to preserve the countryside in her area and much of that is contained in the Lake District National Park. She left much of her property to the National Trust.
So you southerners, read this and weep!
God Bless
January 25, 2016
Tuesday Food Blog - Nothing to do with Burns - much!
I know that I'm writing this on 25th January, Burns Night, but I have not produced my own haggis or a version of neeps and tatties.
Meat loaf
No great secrets this week just a fairly standard meatloaf. It is only the second time that I have cooked a meatloaf and it isn't difficult. I did change the recipe somewhat due to a lack of availability of lamb mince. I did carry out some research into a variety of recipes for this dish and having thought about it one of the key factors must be the liquid content after baking. Too wet and it will be like soup, too dry and it will resemble a brick! There isn't a great deal of liquid in the recipe, about 5fl/oz of milk and an egg, and on top of that just whatever fat is in the meat. Even so when it came to removing the loaf tin from the oven the meatloaf was surrounded in fat which I poured away.
I served the meat loaf with green vegetables and mashed potato. It could equally well be served with beans and chips; eaten cold with a salad; or, sliced thinly as a sandwich filler.
The full recipe is on the relevant TAB.
Robert Burns (January 25th 1759 - July 21st 1796)
[image error]
It quite often seems that the poem that is quoted annually on this day is the one that begins,
'Wee, sleekit, cowrin', tim'rous beastie, ... '
when in fact Burns wrote love poetry also and I quote,
O my Luve's like a red, red rose
That's newly sprung in June;
O my Luve's like the melodie
That's sweetly play'd in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I:
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry:
Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun:
I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.
And fare thee well, my only Luve
And fare thee well, a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho' it were ten thousand mile.
A rather poignant poem considering that Burns died at the tender age of 37.
God Bless
Meat loafNo great secrets this week just a fairly standard meatloaf. It is only the second time that I have cooked a meatloaf and it isn't difficult. I did change the recipe somewhat due to a lack of availability of lamb mince. I did carry out some research into a variety of recipes for this dish and having thought about it one of the key factors must be the liquid content after baking. Too wet and it will be like soup, too dry and it will resemble a brick! There isn't a great deal of liquid in the recipe, about 5fl/oz of milk and an egg, and on top of that just whatever fat is in the meat. Even so when it came to removing the loaf tin from the oven the meatloaf was surrounded in fat which I poured away.
I served the meat loaf with green vegetables and mashed potato. It could equally well be served with beans and chips; eaten cold with a salad; or, sliced thinly as a sandwich filler.
The full recipe is on the relevant TAB.
Robert Burns (January 25th 1759 - July 21st 1796)
[image error]
It quite often seems that the poem that is quoted annually on this day is the one that begins,
'Wee, sleekit, cowrin', tim'rous beastie, ... '
when in fact Burns wrote love poetry also and I quote,
O my Luve's like a red, red rose
That's newly sprung in June;
O my Luve's like the melodie
That's sweetly play'd in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I:
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry:
Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun:
I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.
And fare thee well, my only Luve
And fare thee well, a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho' it were ten thousand mile.
A rather poignant poem considering that Burns died at the tender age of 37.
God Bless
January 24, 2016
Writing - Is Method Writing the way forward?
We've all heard of method acting where an actor immerses himself in the aspects of a role that will help them best understand the nature of the person they are playing. It has now been suggested that is the way forward for writers.
[image error]Method
I have heard of one writer, Thomas W. Hodgkinson, who spent hours lying in a cupboard as part of understanding the mindset of a character in his novel Memoirs of a Stalker. There was so little room he had to write on his mobile phone. Hodgkinson is launching his Method Writers project, calling on other authors to try similar techniques to see whether or not it benefits their writing.Whilst such a move rather conveniently draws attention to Hodgkinson's debut novel, could his idea be worthy of further discussion?
Sarah Churchwell, professor of American Literature at the University of East Anglia, doesn't totally dismiss method writing as an idea, but says most would not think it necessary.
Professor Churchwell did say that it was just one method of writing and in writing one of her books had to immerse herself in 1922 to achieve the atmosphere she was hoping to create.
"I did nothing but read about 1922 for five years - I felt I was imaginatively living in that world. You do become naturally obsessed," she explained.
I can understand that, particularly in producing historical fiction. The recently shelved The Magic Show, which takes place in the 1880's was shelved partly because of my difficulty in obtaining the correct atmosphere.
[image error]
As I have often said it does depend on your own writing process which is intensely personal. I have described my relationship with the creative process many times. In short when my mind is not busy with daily routine, I am inside the head of Patrick Steele, which is an essential part of the process for me.
[image error]Marathon Man
It is not every actors' favourite method of capturing a role. In the film Marathon Man, Dustin Hoffman has to appear exhausted and he explained in the presence of Laurence Olivier, that he hadn't slept the previous night in an attempt to capture the physical feelings associated with exhaustion. Sir Laurence commented,
'Have you tried acting dear boy?'
That may seem a particularly scathing retort but writing and acting are about pretending and, in the case of writing, that pretence can be bent and shaped into new situations. The ideas are inside a writer's head and in some circumstances the 'real' situation doesn't exist.Sir Laurence's comment was about applying your imagination without recreating the situation. The skill of the actor is in making the audience believe that what they are seeing is realistic, not 'real'. Similarly, writers are creating a situation where the readers imagination is engaged. In the Marathon Man, Hoffman's exhaustion may appear different on the screen to the audience members' experience of exhaustion. There is not one single response that would cover the whole audience.
Kyoto 2007
When I have included a place outside the UK in my books, I have usually tried to use a place that I've visited as it refreshes my mind as to the atmosphere of the place. I suppose this would be partial method writing in the strictest sense. Having said that I wouldn't pretend that I had to have been to a place to write about it. Google Earth is very useful!The final point about 'method' working is that it gives a single, personal reaction to a situation. Hodgkinson writing in a cupboard to simulate stalking from a cramped space only gives him a personal experience. If he was claustrophobic his reaction may be totally different and his readership's response may not be the same as the author's.
Imagination is the key. That is what Olivier was saying to Dustin Hoffman and it is that which writers apply every time they create something new.
God Bless
[image error]Method
I have heard of one writer, Thomas W. Hodgkinson, who spent hours lying in a cupboard as part of understanding the mindset of a character in his novel Memoirs of a Stalker. There was so little room he had to write on his mobile phone. Hodgkinson is launching his Method Writers project, calling on other authors to try similar techniques to see whether or not it benefits their writing.Whilst such a move rather conveniently draws attention to Hodgkinson's debut novel, could his idea be worthy of further discussion?
Sarah Churchwell, professor of American Literature at the University of East Anglia, doesn't totally dismiss method writing as an idea, but says most would not think it necessary.
Professor Churchwell did say that it was just one method of writing and in writing one of her books had to immerse herself in 1922 to achieve the atmosphere she was hoping to create.
"I did nothing but read about 1922 for five years - I felt I was imaginatively living in that world. You do become naturally obsessed," she explained.
I can understand that, particularly in producing historical fiction. The recently shelved The Magic Show, which takes place in the 1880's was shelved partly because of my difficulty in obtaining the correct atmosphere.
[image error]
As I have often said it does depend on your own writing process which is intensely personal. I have described my relationship with the creative process many times. In short when my mind is not busy with daily routine, I am inside the head of Patrick Steele, which is an essential part of the process for me.
[image error]Marathon Man
It is not every actors' favourite method of capturing a role. In the film Marathon Man, Dustin Hoffman has to appear exhausted and he explained in the presence of Laurence Olivier, that he hadn't slept the previous night in an attempt to capture the physical feelings associated with exhaustion. Sir Laurence commented,
'Have you tried acting dear boy?'
That may seem a particularly scathing retort but writing and acting are about pretending and, in the case of writing, that pretence can be bent and shaped into new situations. The ideas are inside a writer's head and in some circumstances the 'real' situation doesn't exist.Sir Laurence's comment was about applying your imagination without recreating the situation. The skill of the actor is in making the audience believe that what they are seeing is realistic, not 'real'. Similarly, writers are creating a situation where the readers imagination is engaged. In the Marathon Man, Hoffman's exhaustion may appear different on the screen to the audience members' experience of exhaustion. There is not one single response that would cover the whole audience.
Kyoto 2007
When I have included a place outside the UK in my books, I have usually tried to use a place that I've visited as it refreshes my mind as to the atmosphere of the place. I suppose this would be partial method writing in the strictest sense. Having said that I wouldn't pretend that I had to have been to a place to write about it. Google Earth is very useful!The final point about 'method' working is that it gives a single, personal reaction to a situation. Hodgkinson writing in a cupboard to simulate stalking from a cramped space only gives him a personal experience. If he was claustrophobic his reaction may be totally different and his readership's response may not be the same as the author's.
Imagination is the key. That is what Olivier was saying to Dustin Hoffman and it is that which writers apply every time they create something new.
God Bless
January 23, 2016
Writing - 10 more things
I think this week's news is rather thin but smuggling using toothpaste tubes is the stuff of spy novels.
[image error]
1. Only seven women are allowed to wear white when meeting the Pope.
And how does he expect to dictate what women will wear?
-------------------------------
[image error]
2. You veer to the left when you're anxious.
Is that how communism began?
-------------------------------
3. Czechoslovakian priests smuggled Concorde plans to the Soviets inside toothpaste tubes.
Why priests?
-------------------------------
[image error]
4. Google paid Apple $1bn in 2014 to keep its search bar on iPhones.
I hope they paid tax
-------------------------------
5. David Bowie turned down a request to collaborate with Coldplay on a track they had written, telling them: "It's not a very good song, is it?"
Ouch!
-------------------------------
6. People living in penthouses are more likely to die of a heart attack.
Stress of living so high up
-------------------------------
[image error]
7. Beards may be a breeding ground for new antibiotics.
It was always my intention
-------------------------------
8. Romania had a larger army than the US before World War Two.
Oh goody
-------------------------------
9. There could be a ninth planet in our Solar System... and it isn't
Pluto.
Pluto will always be a planet to me
-------------------------------
[image error]
10. The US military sent rare blonde goats to Afghanistan to try and boost their cashmere industry.
Whose cashmere industry?
-------------------------------
God Bless
[image error]
1. Only seven women are allowed to wear white when meeting the Pope.
And how does he expect to dictate what women will wear?
-------------------------------
[image error]
2. You veer to the left when you're anxious.
Is that how communism began?
-------------------------------
3. Czechoslovakian priests smuggled Concorde plans to the Soviets inside toothpaste tubes.
Why priests?
-------------------------------
[image error]
4. Google paid Apple $1bn in 2014 to keep its search bar on iPhones.
I hope they paid tax
-------------------------------
5. David Bowie turned down a request to collaborate with Coldplay on a track they had written, telling them: "It's not a very good song, is it?"
Ouch!
-------------------------------
6. People living in penthouses are more likely to die of a heart attack.
Stress of living so high up
-------------------------------
[image error]
7. Beards may be a breeding ground for new antibiotics.
It was always my intention
-------------------------------
8. Romania had a larger army than the US before World War Two.
Oh goody
-------------------------------
9. There could be a ninth planet in our Solar System... and it isn't
Pluto.
Pluto will always be a planet to me
-------------------------------
[image error]
10. The US military sent rare blonde goats to Afghanistan to try and boost their cashmere industry.
Whose cashmere industry?
-------------------------------
God Bless
January 22, 2016
Writing - Female warriors of China
You could be forgiven for thinking that I'd partly modelled my hero, Patrick A Steele, on one of the female warriors of China.
[image error]Wuxia
Wuxia - a genre of Chinese fiction or cinema featuring itinerant warriors of ancient China, often depicted as capable of superhuman feats of martial arts.
These warriors are more often than not depicted as female. One of the latest films is The Assassin. Set in the dying days of the Tang Dynasty, it tells the story of Yinniang, an assassin who kills corrupt politicians. When she is unable to complete an assignment after seeing her target playing with his children, she is sent back home to kill a beloved childhood friend, who now leads a powerful military force.Perhaps I modelled Patrick Steele's fiancé, Naomi Kobayashi (Japanese), but I can't even lay claim to that as I hadn't realised that WUXIA, as a genre, existed. However, the idea that the star of Assassin is just as keen to rid the world of corrupt politicians as is Patrick Steele.
[image error]
In fact The Assassins is described as a cross between Wolf Hall and Clint Eastwood's High Planes Drifter or Pale Rider. In fact Yinniang, the assassin, silently haunts the houses of the rich and powerful.
[image error]
At its most basic form, wuxia is a genre of Chinese fiction and cinema set in ancient China and centred around the heroic deeds of legendary warriors. The release of The Assassin reminds us how different artists can work within the wuxia tradition.
Over the last two decades, the Western mainstream has found that bombastic ‘kung fu’ film treatments go down the easiest, such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000), Hero (2002) and House of Flying Daggers (2004).
The release of The Assassin heralds another peak – or flying leap – in wuxia’s progress from Chinese legend to worldwide entertainment.
Of course another difference between the above and Steele is the fact that the martial art of which he is an exponent is Aikido. A discipline that uses the attacking thrusts of an enemy is channelled back against them. An oversimplification!
In fact these ancient wuxia stories appear in many art forms ranging from the written story through all media to opera. For a story to qualify for inclusion within the genre it should include the two elements wu, the martial combat spirit; and xia, which translates as chivalry or righteousness (moral certainty).
[image error]Author - Wena Poon
Taiwanese author Wena Poon, states that the closest hero to wuxia is not Sir Lancelot but Robin Hood. If you have followed my writing from the first Steele novel I Have To Get It Right, to now you will be aware that I've described Steele as a cross between Robin Hood and James Bond but of late I tend more towards the former.
In another sense it is a sign that stories written in the 21st century are as relevant as during the Tang Dynasty.
God Bless
[image error]Wuxia
Wuxia - a genre of Chinese fiction or cinema featuring itinerant warriors of ancient China, often depicted as capable of superhuman feats of martial arts.
These warriors are more often than not depicted as female. One of the latest films is The Assassin. Set in the dying days of the Tang Dynasty, it tells the story of Yinniang, an assassin who kills corrupt politicians. When she is unable to complete an assignment after seeing her target playing with his children, she is sent back home to kill a beloved childhood friend, who now leads a powerful military force.Perhaps I modelled Patrick Steele's fiancé, Naomi Kobayashi (Japanese), but I can't even lay claim to that as I hadn't realised that WUXIA, as a genre, existed. However, the idea that the star of Assassin is just as keen to rid the world of corrupt politicians as is Patrick Steele.
[image error]
In fact The Assassins is described as a cross between Wolf Hall and Clint Eastwood's High Planes Drifter or Pale Rider. In fact Yinniang, the assassin, silently haunts the houses of the rich and powerful.
[image error]
At its most basic form, wuxia is a genre of Chinese fiction and cinema set in ancient China and centred around the heroic deeds of legendary warriors. The release of The Assassin reminds us how different artists can work within the wuxia tradition.
Over the last two decades, the Western mainstream has found that bombastic ‘kung fu’ film treatments go down the easiest, such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000), Hero (2002) and House of Flying Daggers (2004).
The release of The Assassin heralds another peak – or flying leap – in wuxia’s progress from Chinese legend to worldwide entertainment.
Of course another difference between the above and Steele is the fact that the martial art of which he is an exponent is Aikido. A discipline that uses the attacking thrusts of an enemy is channelled back against them. An oversimplification!
In fact these ancient wuxia stories appear in many art forms ranging from the written story through all media to opera. For a story to qualify for inclusion within the genre it should include the two elements wu, the martial combat spirit; and xia, which translates as chivalry or righteousness (moral certainty).
[image error]Author - Wena Poon
Taiwanese author Wena Poon, states that the closest hero to wuxia is not Sir Lancelot but Robin Hood. If you have followed my writing from the first Steele novel I Have To Get It Right, to now you will be aware that I've described Steele as a cross between Robin Hood and James Bond but of late I tend more towards the former.
In another sense it is a sign that stories written in the 21st century are as relevant as during the Tang Dynasty.
God Bless
January 21, 2016
Writing - Real life as a source of inspiration
I have stated in this blog that my latest book Flight into Secrecy is based on the events surrounding the disappearance of Malaysian Flight MH370 a couple of years ago. My current project is growing around the events that occurred in New York on 09/11/2001.
Writing from life
So what about using actual events? There are a plethora of books and films taken from such situations and they range from Erin Brockovich to The Dam Busters. So I am not referring to anything new but how does it match up with writing from where we are at as we are advised to do?
What I feel is necessary is to have some kind of emotional connection with the subject. For me, with the missing aeroplane featured in Flight , it was a feeling that there was such a range of difference between the stories released by different media from a variety of countries, that nothing rang true. This triggered the in-built sense of injustice that dwells within me and I investigated further, which eventually led to the book. I've been told that the outcome is a 'fantastic story' and 'the best Steele so far'. I believe that is down to two factors. The first is that with practice I'm becoming a better writer, and the second is driven by the emotional connection described above.
In one sense I was writing from where I'm at.
[image error]Building 7
At around the same time I began writing Flight into Secrecy I discovered the material on what happened on 9/11. Now it would be perfectly reasonable to ask why I hadn't spotted this earlier, even before I began Flight, as it occurred 15 years ago. Well I have a theory! It is easy to be wise after the event, but I missed it because everything was sown up within a few days. By the 13th September, it had been stated that there was proof Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda were the culprits. On the 24th September The Patriot Act was passed by the US government and the process of targeting Iraq and eventually Afghanistan, had begun. The media had been a mouth piece for the government and focussed on the tragic loss of life and the culprits rather than examining the scene for evidence of the perpetrators. In fact within a couple of weeks there was little evidence left to examine as all of the steel used in the construction of the 3 towers had been removed for smelting.The reasons I was finally pulled on to the anomalies of this story, were the controlled way in which Building 7 collapsed almost 8 hours after the twin towers; and, a video believed to be of a missile hitting the pentagon as opposed to a 3rd plane. There are other stories of companies suddenly leaving the Twin Towers in the week before the attack and the fact that building seven was empty of personnel. It had been used by branches of the security services.
To a suspicious, conspiracy theorist such as me it was like a red rag to a bull. I have to write it particularly when coupled with the great feedback on Flight.
God Bless
Writing from life
So what about using actual events? There are a plethora of books and films taken from such situations and they range from Erin Brockovich to The Dam Busters. So I am not referring to anything new but how does it match up with writing from where we are at as we are advised to do?
What I feel is necessary is to have some kind of emotional connection with the subject. For me, with the missing aeroplane featured in Flight , it was a feeling that there was such a range of difference between the stories released by different media from a variety of countries, that nothing rang true. This triggered the in-built sense of injustice that dwells within me and I investigated further, which eventually led to the book. I've been told that the outcome is a 'fantastic story' and 'the best Steele so far'. I believe that is down to two factors. The first is that with practice I'm becoming a better writer, and the second is driven by the emotional connection described above.
In one sense I was writing from where I'm at.
[image error]Building 7
At around the same time I began writing Flight into Secrecy I discovered the material on what happened on 9/11. Now it would be perfectly reasonable to ask why I hadn't spotted this earlier, even before I began Flight, as it occurred 15 years ago. Well I have a theory! It is easy to be wise after the event, but I missed it because everything was sown up within a few days. By the 13th September, it had been stated that there was proof Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda were the culprits. On the 24th September The Patriot Act was passed by the US government and the process of targeting Iraq and eventually Afghanistan, had begun. The media had been a mouth piece for the government and focussed on the tragic loss of life and the culprits rather than examining the scene for evidence of the perpetrators. In fact within a couple of weeks there was little evidence left to examine as all of the steel used in the construction of the 3 towers had been removed for smelting.The reasons I was finally pulled on to the anomalies of this story, were the controlled way in which Building 7 collapsed almost 8 hours after the twin towers; and, a video believed to be of a missile hitting the pentagon as opposed to a 3rd plane. There are other stories of companies suddenly leaving the Twin Towers in the week before the attack and the fact that building seven was empty of personnel. It had been used by branches of the security services.
To a suspicious, conspiracy theorist such as me it was like a red rag to a bull. I have to write it particularly when coupled with the great feedback on Flight.
God Bless
January 20, 2016
Poetry Thursday 196 - God forgive the wealthy Porcellus
My ire was raised by the statistics garnered for our consumption by various charities and financial institutions this week which led to the first poem. Apparently the richest 62 people in the UK have more wealth than the rest of us.
Enough for All
And so the rich get richer,but for the rest of uslife seems no fairer.
It’s no truth that wealth trickles downfrom the dizzy heights of the super-richto the ordinary people that lack a crown.
Then there are those who have to strivebut carry on nevertheless,the landed rich don’t care they’re alive.
They are never satisfied with their lotbut will cheat and live a lieto add as much as possible to their plot.
There is enough for all to have their shareif only the greedy oneswould open their eyes and be aware.
Beneath the robe a poor bony girl and boywith DOOM writ upon their foreheads,a warning to the class they will destroy.© David L Atkinson January 2016
Thanks to Charles Dickens for the idea that inspired the ending.
This next offering is an animal poem. I can't remember why I began to write these but I love animals, perhaps that is enough said.
Cavia Porcellus
A wee friendly beast as benign as can be,a variety of colours but not too wee.As chatty as housewives in a gossiping stir,with smooth, fluffy or whorls of luxurious fur.
In some lands reared and cooked for dinnerin others a fawned over pet show winner.This wonderful animal dressed in best rig,is none other than the humble guinea pig.© David L Atkinson January 2016
Perhaps I should collect the animal ones together and produce a pamphlet.
God Bless
Enough for All
And so the rich get richer,but for the rest of uslife seems no fairer.
It’s no truth that wealth trickles downfrom the dizzy heights of the super-richto the ordinary people that lack a crown.
Then there are those who have to strivebut carry on nevertheless,the landed rich don’t care they’re alive.
They are never satisfied with their lotbut will cheat and live a lieto add as much as possible to their plot.
There is enough for all to have their shareif only the greedy oneswould open their eyes and be aware.
Beneath the robe a poor bony girl and boywith DOOM writ upon their foreheads,a warning to the class they will destroy.© David L Atkinson January 2016
Thanks to Charles Dickens for the idea that inspired the ending.
This next offering is an animal poem. I can't remember why I began to write these but I love animals, perhaps that is enough said.
Cavia Porcellus
A wee friendly beast as benign as can be,a variety of colours but not too wee.As chatty as housewives in a gossiping stir,with smooth, fluffy or whorls of luxurious fur.
In some lands reared and cooked for dinnerin others a fawned over pet show winner.This wonderful animal dressed in best rig,is none other than the humble guinea pig.© David L Atkinson January 2016
Perhaps I should collect the animal ones together and produce a pamphlet.
God Bless
January 19, 2016
Writing - Here is the book news
I find it quite satisfying that there is so much 'book news' in the media.
The first bulletin has to be the good news that Professor Stephen Hawking has been speculating once again about the future. His previous, quite recent, theory that A.I. could actually bring about the demise of the human race gave food for thought for SF writers. Well he's done it again, speculating on the future of the human race and where it will be in a few hundred years time.
[image error]
Professor Hawking says that assuming humanity eventually establishes colonies on other worlds, it will be able to survive."Although the chance of a disaster to planet Earth in a given year may be quite low, it adds up over time, and becomes a near certainty in the next thousand or ten thousand years.
"By that time we should have spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth would not mean the end of the human race.
"However, we will not establish self-sustaining colonies in space for at least the next hundred years, so we have to be very careful in this period."
Fuel for futuristic writers.
The second piece of news is less positive.
[image error]by Ramin Ganeshram
This book has been pulled by publishers Scholastic. The story is of Washington's slave, Hercules, a cook, and his daughter and was released on 5th January. It was met with a barrage of 1 star reviews and criticisms of depicting slaves as happy and was disgustingly inaccurate. Scholastic made a statement that included the fact that there wasn't enough historically accurate information.The author, Ramin Ganeshram, insisted that he'd researched the book extensively.
Finally, some foreign news.
[image error]Winnie the Pooh
As yesterday (18th January) was Winnie the Pooh Day it would be remiss of me to mention the fact that the cuddly characters created by A A Milne have been translated into many languages and in particular Russian. The Winnie film, Russian version, became successful in 1969 and its popularity has increased since those days. Of course, Vinni Pukh is modelled on a black bear whereas the American version is more redolent of a brown bear. You can see the difference in the two pictures here.The really positive thing is that a good story is translatable.
[image error]
God Bless
The first bulletin has to be the good news that Professor Stephen Hawking has been speculating once again about the future. His previous, quite recent, theory that A.I. could actually bring about the demise of the human race gave food for thought for SF writers. Well he's done it again, speculating on the future of the human race and where it will be in a few hundred years time.
[image error]
Professor Hawking says that assuming humanity eventually establishes colonies on other worlds, it will be able to survive."Although the chance of a disaster to planet Earth in a given year may be quite low, it adds up over time, and becomes a near certainty in the next thousand or ten thousand years.
"By that time we should have spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth would not mean the end of the human race.
"However, we will not establish self-sustaining colonies in space for at least the next hundred years, so we have to be very careful in this period."
Fuel for futuristic writers.
The second piece of news is less positive.
[image error]by Ramin Ganeshram
This book has been pulled by publishers Scholastic. The story is of Washington's slave, Hercules, a cook, and his daughter and was released on 5th January. It was met with a barrage of 1 star reviews and criticisms of depicting slaves as happy and was disgustingly inaccurate. Scholastic made a statement that included the fact that there wasn't enough historically accurate information.The author, Ramin Ganeshram, insisted that he'd researched the book extensively.
Finally, some foreign news.
[image error]Winnie the Pooh
As yesterday (18th January) was Winnie the Pooh Day it would be remiss of me to mention the fact that the cuddly characters created by A A Milne have been translated into many languages and in particular Russian. The Winnie film, Russian version, became successful in 1969 and its popularity has increased since those days. Of course, Vinni Pukh is modelled on a black bear whereas the American version is more redolent of a brown bear. You can see the difference in the two pictures here.The really positive thing is that a good story is translatable.
[image error]
God Bless
January 18, 2016
Tuesday Food Blog - Goodwood tart
An interesting name but I can assure you that this tart contains no horse meat.
Goodwood Tart
I had a roll of frozen pastry left from last week's recipe and cast around for something with which to fill it. I'm afraid those who are worried about their cholesterol, or sleepless nights due to screaming arteries should probably avoid this recipe. Then again don't you find it to be the case that the best dishes are the ones which are bad for you?
This tasty dish is one which relies very much on the two types of cheese which are contained within. One of the cheeses needs to be soft and recommends Levin Down which is a West Sussex cheese that is similar to a soft Camembert. The second cheese needs to be a strong hard cheese and I used mature cheddar. The other ingredients are bacon, onions, eggs and double cream.
Recipe on the relevant TAB
I served this with baked beans at one meal, and also with mashed potatoes and peas. In fact this dish eats hot or cold and would do well with salad in the spring and summer.
God Bless
Goodwood TartI had a roll of frozen pastry left from last week's recipe and cast around for something with which to fill it. I'm afraid those who are worried about their cholesterol, or sleepless nights due to screaming arteries should probably avoid this recipe. Then again don't you find it to be the case that the best dishes are the ones which are bad for you?
This tasty dish is one which relies very much on the two types of cheese which are contained within. One of the cheeses needs to be soft and recommends Levin Down which is a West Sussex cheese that is similar to a soft Camembert. The second cheese needs to be a strong hard cheese and I used mature cheddar. The other ingredients are bacon, onions, eggs and double cream.
Recipe on the relevant TAB
I served this with baked beans at one meal, and also with mashed potatoes and peas. In fact this dish eats hot or cold and would do well with salad in the spring and summer.
God Bless
January 17, 2016
Writing - Frankenstein and what happens next
Mary Shelley began writing the story of Frankenstein in a notebook (still exists in the Bodleian Library, Oxford) in June 1816 when she was just 18 years old. It was published two years later.
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By the time she returned to England from Italy at the age of 25, the first theatrical version, Presumption! - or the Fate of Frankenstein - had already made her famous. In fact by now, 200 years later, maybe she is even more famous than her husband the poet Percy Shelley.
Isn't this every author's dream?
Shelley's story of Frankenstein and his monstrous Creature has always had a strange power to set people’s imagination on fire. It is the first true science fiction, and the first unforgettable parable about the perils of modern science.
It has been made into more that 100 films: notably with Boris Karloff, in 1931; with Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein in 1974; and Kenneth Branagh’s Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in 1994. There have been over 70 stage dramatizations since the first in 1821, including musical comedies, numerous television adaptations and pop music albums (by Alice Cooper and others). There has been a Frankenstein on ice, and various Frankenstein graphic novels and Frankenstein cartoon serials (The Munsters). Danny Boyle’s stage production of Frankenstein with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller at the National Theatre was a huge popular hit as recently as 2011. A Frankenstein ballet by Liam Scarlett will open at the Royal Opera House this May 2016.
A fraction of that success would be wonderful.
There is a competition to write a sequel, but where would that take us?
Where would you take the story? Would you be kinder to the monster? Would you create a female monster? There are all manner of possibilities.
Deadline for all entries week beginning 1st February 2016. Full details can be found on the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association website.
Of course such competitions could be applied to many classic stories. In fact the BBC have gone the other way with Charles Dickens characters in a series entitled Dickensian. What they have done, and I think have done well, is taken characters from various Dickens stories and melded them into a serial of what happened before Christmas Carol, Great Expectations and the like.
[image error]
You have a very much alive Jacob Marley, Mr and Mrs Bumble, Miss Hathersage and more. They relate as their characters will allow and it makes for quite an authentic watch.
In fact there have been a few other similar films that have started as a single character franchise and emerged as a new sort of collective. I'm thinking of Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Age of Ultron, where you have Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America and more joining forces and using their collective powers to overcome evil.
The question I suppose is, with permissions, are you creating something new or stealing someone else's ideas? All sorts of ethics in that loaded question. The point is that you can look at your own work and use it to go off at a tangent or draw greater inspiration while maintaining characters that are already much loved.
In my most recent Steele novel, Flight into Secrecy , I have used the man and his team to tackle a real life issue and such was the success of that story I am trying something similar. Watch this space.
God Bless
[image error]
By the time she returned to England from Italy at the age of 25, the first theatrical version, Presumption! - or the Fate of Frankenstein - had already made her famous. In fact by now, 200 years later, maybe she is even more famous than her husband the poet Percy Shelley.
Isn't this every author's dream?
Shelley's story of Frankenstein and his monstrous Creature has always had a strange power to set people’s imagination on fire. It is the first true science fiction, and the first unforgettable parable about the perils of modern science.
It has been made into more that 100 films: notably with Boris Karloff, in 1931; with Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein in 1974; and Kenneth Branagh’s Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in 1994. There have been over 70 stage dramatizations since the first in 1821, including musical comedies, numerous television adaptations and pop music albums (by Alice Cooper and others). There has been a Frankenstein on ice, and various Frankenstein graphic novels and Frankenstein cartoon serials (The Munsters). Danny Boyle’s stage production of Frankenstein with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller at the National Theatre was a huge popular hit as recently as 2011. A Frankenstein ballet by Liam Scarlett will open at the Royal Opera House this May 2016.
A fraction of that success would be wonderful.
There is a competition to write a sequel, but where would that take us?
Where would you take the story? Would you be kinder to the monster? Would you create a female monster? There are all manner of possibilities.
Deadline for all entries week beginning 1st February 2016. Full details can be found on the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association website.
Of course such competitions could be applied to many classic stories. In fact the BBC have gone the other way with Charles Dickens characters in a series entitled Dickensian. What they have done, and I think have done well, is taken characters from various Dickens stories and melded them into a serial of what happened before Christmas Carol, Great Expectations and the like.
[image error]
You have a very much alive Jacob Marley, Mr and Mrs Bumble, Miss Hathersage and more. They relate as their characters will allow and it makes for quite an authentic watch.
In fact there have been a few other similar films that have started as a single character franchise and emerged as a new sort of collective. I'm thinking of Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Age of Ultron, where you have Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America and more joining forces and using their collective powers to overcome evil.
The question I suppose is, with permissions, are you creating something new or stealing someone else's ideas? All sorts of ethics in that loaded question. The point is that you can look at your own work and use it to go off at a tangent or draw greater inspiration while maintaining characters that are already much loved.
In my most recent Steele novel, Flight into Secrecy , I have used the man and his team to tackle a real life issue and such was the success of that story I am trying something similar. Watch this space.
God Bless
