David L. Atkinson's Blog, page 75

Writing - Cultural change and the 1960s

Over the centuries there have been significant moments which have had influence on the course of life around the world. One of those moments was almost exactly fifty years ago.
1965
The question is did the flower power era have any lasting effects. Well consider some of the events that occurred in the year 1965.LBJ made his 'Great Society' speech,Malcolm X, Martin Luther King at Selma, the first combat troops sent to Vietnam. All of these actions, along with the political situations a couple of years earlier, generated a counter-culture.
Bob Dylan
Counter-culture spoke through music, art, novels, theatre, journalism and FM Radio. It was speaking about racial segregation, women's rights, persecution of homosexuals, censorship, nuclear testing and environmental destruction. In short anti-establishmentism.In music the Beatles went from Beatles for Sale  to Rubber Soul, Dylan produce three albums one of which was Highway 61 Revisited. There were also a plethora of singers and groups who produced protest songs and extolled the virtues of free love and a gentler way of life. Much of the music sounds as fresh and relevant today as it did when we were lowering the needle on to our spinning black albums. It is exactly 50 years ago and once again there are voices and political movements decrying the elitism that seems to be gathering pace in this 21st century sighting , environmental destruction, the poor, women's rights, gay rights and many other problems similar to what occurred fifty years ago. However, this is not just a story from recent times.
[image error]                             [image error]Mary Wollstonecraft                                                             Tom Paine
In the 17th and 18th centuries there were the ancestors of the current counter-culture, such people as the feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and the radical Tom Paine, not to forget poet and artist William Blake, whose visionary poetry and subversive art influenced so many young people in the 1960s.
[image error]William Blake
One of the quotes which I particularly like is,
I must create my own systemor be enslaved by another man's
He was also linked through his mother's family to a 17th century radical sect The Muggletonian's. This sect met in Finsbury Park, London until the blitz during the 2nd World War and the last sect members died in 1979. The sect was named after one of its founders Lodowicke Muggleton. This protestant christian sect sprang up when two tailors claimed that they were the last two prophets whose coming was foretold in the biblical Book of Revelations.(I wonder where J K Rowling obtained the term 'muggles'?)In the sixties the atmosphere effervesced with the new found possibilities felt by the baby boomers in new-found educational, class and economic freedoms. As a result the staid ways of the Victorian and Edwardian societies in some degree were kicked into touch.
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Fifty years on, I believe that the Beatles, Bob Dylan and the like have really mattered and their influence lives on. To close a link to one of Dylan's famous protest songs,
https://youtu.be/-H2Vvfg0d3k?list=PLknidvzcLCRH1DPgevbxbyhY8wo8ljLcl



God Bless

Tuesday Food Blog - BMI. other stuff and reading

As a rather overweight, even obese, person I get sick to death of hearing about how we all need to be thinner, what foods are bad for us, and the list of dreadful illnesses that will befall me in time. It is all about what I term the immortality mentality that pervades society these days.
Supposedly healthy eatables.
It took me a long time to find a photo with meat, in this case chicken which if I remember when bought at supermarkets is riddled with bacteria, as a representation of how to eat well. BUT there is also cheese(!) bread, milk, and asparagus, which can be rare and expensive.
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Many of the photos I disregarded were more suitable for herbivorous animals rather than the omnivores which we are.Omnivores are 'built' to eat all types of food, both from animals and plants. It could even be argued that we are less well adapted to digest plant materials as our appendix is vestigial and no longer contains the bacteria necessary to breakdown plant cellulose.
I am not arguing in favour of greed or over-eating. What I am looking for is a little humanity, or perhaps humanness. The news today was about the use of weight and BMI as criteria for dishing out treatment for such conditions as anorexia and other eating disorders. Again I'm no expert but it seems to me that the majority of such illnesses, and they are real, are psychological rather than physiological. So applying a quantitative measure to direct treatment is fundamentally wrong. Even the governments health group NICE states in its advice to GPs and nurses that using weight and BMI solely is not recommended as they are considered unreliable. So what's going on?
Noticeboards
Believe it or not it is all about reading. Specifically it is about doctors and nurses reading guidance from NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence). As with noticeboards people don't read them, in the case of health care professionals, it is probably because of the plethora of material they are required to plough through. As a former teacher, deputy head teacher and banker, it was one of those issues that reared its head periodically. If you look at noticeboards in schools they are presented in bright colours and supposedly interesting and varied fonts to attract people to read what is there. BUT they don't read them. There are a couple of messages - firstly, noticeboards don't work; and, there is too much stuff for us to take in anyway. Much of what we are required to read has come from such bodies as health and safety and the associated risk assessments.
[image error]Too much to read too little time!
The fact of the matter is people have limits. The more supposedly essential stuff that we are faced with, the more likelihood of things being missed and mistakes being made. A professor involved with the health service commented that he was working on how to MAKE people read the information sent out. I'm no professor, and even before I began writing I was aware that task is impossible. You cannot make anyone do what they are reluctant to do and it isn't the recipient's responsibility. It is the 'powers that be' which need to present their essential information in such a way that it is accessible to all who need the stuff.
When we write our books or articles we need to be aware of things such as pace, balance, accuracy and more, in an effort to encourage people to want to read our works. Too many instructional and information articles are dry, boring, littered with jargon and a plethora of acronyms all of which mitigate against grabbing people's attention. So NICE have a job to do to help people with eating issues and in my opinion it has to be done on an individual basis. So throw away the measures and TALK to the patients involved.

And don't forget the Venture Galleries featuring Cessation

http://venturegalleries.com/botm/cessation-by-david-l-atkinson/
God Bless

Writing - Are you sure about the future?

Having been away for a couple of days it was a great surprise to return home to the news that Cessation is being featured in Venture Galleries auspicious pages. There is a link below to see the Venture Galleries page.

Synopsis
Life has changed dramatically. There has not been a sudden and traumatic cataclysmic event. The financial crash that began in 2008 has caused the money to run out. People stayed away from towns and cities after dark because of rioting and looting but during the day these places have become places to trade home produced goods.       The government have become isolated and ineffective and there is no police force as such rather a government sponsored militia. The health service had collapsed and life expectancy was going backwards. Then the lights went out! Computers stopped working, people couldn’t access their money and the emergency services were no longer available. Human nature kicked in and people would only survive using their physical skills and knowledge.       Most people moved into small communities many of which that have been fortified to some extent. There was little fuel available so the horse was fast becoming the mode of transport - not that people travelled so far. Families have to produce as much of their own food as possible and old skills of carpentry, basket weaving etc were re-surfacing.       There were a variety of hazards that had emerged - gangs of the lawless who tended to stick close to the towns and cities; vigilante groups dispensing their own brand of justice; wild animals from all continents (530 zoos in the UK) and more were released to roam and survive.Mason and his only two good friends, Jonathon and Kate, establish a commune on the Yorkshire Moors but their numbers remained small only being swelled by a couple of relatives and a waif picked up on one of the two men’s sojourns for supplies.As the story progresses the people at the commune, named Serendipity, realise that survival with such a small number will be difficult and begin to tentatively seek out other similar units in the valleys of the low Pennine hills. There are conflicts resulting from leadership and territorial squabbles which reduces three communes to two. They seem to be holding their own but then quasi troops from a town some way north of Serendipity cut off their water supply. This is overcome but not without human cost.A breeding plan is introduced to try and expand the population and seems to begin to bear fruit but then an illness strikes. It is an old illness, not necessarily a killer, but with no antibiotics turns that way. The population dwindles.
http://venturegalleries.com/botm/cessation-by-david-l-atkinson/

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Venture Galleries is a great site for us indie authors and Caleb and Stephen, site managers, are very supportive.
God Bless

Writing - Just to prove I can

I feel that I need to keep blogging even when not at home but as yet my attempts have been hampered by my lack of expertise with mobile devices.

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The Red Arrows in action.


The other books available in the portfolio,
Steele   My hero was created post recession and so has no concept of how 'good' things were pre-2008. In 'I Have To Get It Right' when he began to flex his muscles he was working in an accountant's office. Then after the Gurentai took him under their wing and removed all of his financial worries, it was justice that was his major concern. He did become involved in international relations in 'The 51st State' but it was for the maintenance of a respectful distance between countries, rather than economic reasons. His trips into the USA had repercussions which can be read about in 'The Biter Bit' but then by the time things began to change in 2011 and the recession was really biting, Steele was trying to make sense of the state of the nation in 'A Changed Reality'and coming up against some really nasty people taking advantage of the shortage of money. By the time the USA are out of their recession Steele's steps are still being dogged by an unknown enemy from the same country. In 'Inceptus' we also find out more about what makes the man tick. The most recent Steele book 'Castled' where Steele is once again at risk from unseen enemies. It would seem that he has become quite recession proof!The most recent addition to the Steele family is Earth plc in which our hero is concerned with political and emotional issues in this crime fighting adventure.
All books are available in paperback or ebook through Amazon, Smashwords and all good book shop websites.

God Bless

Writing - Off to the Sunderland Air Show #wearhere

Sunderland Air Show may not be the world renowned event one might expect but it will entertain over 20 000 people, including me, and features the Red Arrows and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
[image error]BBMF
For those unfamiliar with WW II aeroplanes the top one in the photo is a Lancaster bomber and I still feel proud that my mother was conscripted in 1943 to Heywood in Lancashire to help build these machines.
Have a great weekend.
 


The other books available in the portfolio,
Steele   My hero was created post recession and so has no concept of how 'good' things were pre-2008. In 'I Have To Get It Right' when he began to flex his muscles he was working in an accountant's office. Then after the Gurentai took him under their wing and removed all of his financial worries, it was justice that was his major concern. He did become involved in international relations in 'The 51st State' but it was for the maintenance of a respectful distance between countries, rather than economic reasons. His trips into the USA had repercussions which can be read about in 'The Biter Bit' but then by the time things began to change in 2011 and the recession was really biting, Steele was trying to make sense of the state of the nation in 'A Changed Reality' and coming up against some really nasty people taking advantage of the shortage of money. By the time the USA are out of their recession Steele's steps are still being dogged by an unknown enemy from the same country. In 'Inceptus' we also find out more about what makes the man tick. The most recent Steele book 'Castled' where Steele is once again at risk from unseen enemies. It would seem that he has become quite recession proof!The most recent addition to the Steele family is Earth plc in which our hero is concerned with political and emotional issues in this crime fighting adventure.
All books are available in paperback or ebook through Amazon, Smashwords and all good book shop websites.


Cessation 


This is a dystopian story that hinges directly on the state of the nation as a result of fiscal mismanagement. Having said that it is more a story of human relations, privations, love and loss.


Poetry - there are also two thoughtful collections of poetry available solely through Amazon.


The Musings of a Confused Mind 


and


Words from the Raindrops 

God Bless

Writing - Car hacking - so what's next?

I watched a news programme this morning and was amazed to see an item about a Jeep Cherokee that had been taken over by computer hackers from the comfort of their own sofas.
Hacked Jeep
The exercise of hacking the cars computer was an exercise in testing the security on the on-board computer. The hackers took over the wipers, indicators, brakes, turned off the engine, and caused it to run into a ditch - slowly!
This is interesting to writers on a number of counts. The inclusion of such possibilities has been shown in films in the past but there is a touch of reality in there now. It is an aspect of technology that can legitimately be explored in stories. For authors writing in the present in the adventure/thriller genres (is that the plural?) they have the opportunity to extend the idea of controlling vehicles to controlling a range of devices.
[image error]The automated home
The above automated home has heating, window, entertainment, lighting, motion sensors and significantly, door and security controls. What fun could Ethan Small (Steele's techie) have with those types of hacking opportunities?
When you consider the levels of automation in our lives it is hardly surprising that the literary opportunities are developing alongside. Of course it isn't new. Isaac Asimov is one author who was well ahead of the game in creating the 3 laws of robotics. He had thought about the interaction between robots and humans existing and working in tandem and what was needed to keep that relationship stable. The film 'I Robot' explored what happens when that relationship breaks down, there was a particularly sinister scene that I enjoyed when the Robot was cutting vegetables in Will Smith's grandmother's kitchen. It embodied the insecurity humans have and the potential dominance of the automaton. 
[image error]I RobotHowever, in this modern era such robots are not yet available but automated devices certainly are. The previous landlord of my local pub had an automated vacuum cleaner which was pensioned off pretty early in its career - too many chairs and stools to be efficient.You don't have to stretch the imagination too hard to put a surveillance device in a subject's automated cleaner. 
[image error]Automated vac
A computer expert stated on TV that the increased opportunity for hacking was due in part to the increase in wireless and Bluetooth availability. It may have been intended for communication and entertainment but now that manufacturers are building those options into their products the hacking opportunities have grown exponentially.
As an author of stories in the modern world I feel the need to keep up. My younger son told me of 3D printers around three years ago and look where they've developed to - manufacture of prosthetics and more. They are almost 'old hat' and now things have leapt forward once more to the point where if you have a bump in the car you could claim that it wasn't you but you had your car hacked!
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God Bless

Poetry Thursday 170 - Limericks

Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet. He was most famous for his nonsense prose and poetry and popularised the writing of limericks. He also wrote amusing poems like The Owl and the Pussycat and The Jumblies.

[image error]Edward Lear 1812 - 1888
It would have been interesting to chat to the man. His writing has so many interesting things to see and corners to turn round, it would be an education to hear him explain how he developed such richness in his imagery.
There was an Old Person of Dean,
Who dined on one pea and one bean;
For he said, “More than that would make me too fat,”
That cautious Old Person of Dean.

Now my words,

My Limericks


There was a young man of SeaburnWho could never football lessons learnHe forever tripped overStiff clumps of cloverTo play for Sunderland he did yearn© David L Atkinson July 2015

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There was a young girl of RyhopeWho could skip for a day with a ropeShe skipped in the morningOn into the eveningTill she slipped on a bar of soap© David L Atkinson July 2015

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There was a young man of SunderlandWhose team resembled blunderlandThey huffed and they puffedPlayed till they were stuffedA win would send him to wonderland© David L Atkinson July 2015

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There was a man who played cricketHe hit a six to a thicketThey searched for the ballUntil the nightfallWhen he finally retired his wicket© David L Atkinson July 2015

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There was a young lady of HeverWhose husband tried to deceive herHe was rarely at homeAnd tended to roamIn his searching for fresh beaver© David L Atkinson July 2015

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There was a man of Chipping NortonCompleted his education at EtonHe became prime ministerNot really that sinisterNeither qualified by subjects taught on.© David L Atkinson July 2015

God Bless

Writing - Plot development and planning

One of the aspects of writing that others congratulate themselves for but which I find tedious and even obstructive is planning.
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The above picture can be interpreted as you wish but I believe a writer has the richness of the world in his hands and it can be a heavy burden. Planning can be an obstacle to creativity. I have sat through many meetings in education, banking and religion, when the idea of a three or four or five year plan was mooted. My scalp crawls in terror at the eagerness of some people within those groups at the presentation of such an idea. I believe that they think a plan will be the solution to whatever ails the group. Of course, it can be the greatest obstruction to progress, divergent thinking and innovation. I'm not saying that there doesn't need to be a plan, in all activities there needs to be a skeleton on which to hang the flesh, but the plan mustn't be the driver, that is a job for the individuals in the organisation. If the progress isn't going according to the plan then change the plan, don't try to make your actions fit something that may have turned out to be unworkable.
For me writing a book requires an idea, the plan a few minutes of preparation on which to give direction, but then you must write. The characters will then take over and carry the story forward for you to such an extent that the plan may become irrelevant. That is the beauty of writing and the mystical part of creativity, stories have a life of their own and even though you may have created the primordial soup from which the story developed, there comes a point when you may feel that you're no longer in control. Enjoy that moment to the full and pray that the readers engage with your stories in the same way.
Royalties
I must stress that in no measure am I involved in writing to make money. In fact, although the figures are small, I lose every month. On the other hand I do receive royalty payments on occasion, and I'm owed money from my publisher and Smashwords because of their policy of not paying anything less than £50 or $50, respectively. The point is that even in a small way the work I produce has value. This is true for all writers whether they make millions or very little. If you are having doubts about the time spent writing without much return, consider the process of buying lottery tickets and a common phrase often used to encourage people to be involved,
'You've got to be in it to win it'
So don't give up on your dreams. Initially the rewards may not be massive, or may even be non-existent, but the dream belongs to you and as such is important to you, so treasure and nurture it for yourself. Hopefully others may buy into your stories and give you the success you deserve.
God Bless

Tuesday Food Blog - A fish finger sandwich

This week it is an old favourite with a new twist and a bit of a zing.

Fish fingers and pitta breads
As a child mother would occasionally serve up a fish finger sandwich with plenty of tomato ketchup for tea, that's the meal eaten around 5pm! I've spoken to many people who have declared their love for this strange combination. In some ways it is a little like the Yorkshire 'fish butty' with fish and bread soused in ketchup, but instead of batter you have breadcrumbs.This week's version may seem posh but it isn't really it probably has more links with the post beer session supper as it even has the spiciness often craved after a good night in the pub. The spiciness comes from the mayonnaise and is so very easy to reproduce. Half a teaspoon of curry powder, a squeeze of lemon juice, stirred into a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise. I even used a 'light' version so that it wasn't as calorific!I haven't put a separate recipe on the TAB because this is a meal more about assembly than cooking skills or special ingredients. Of course there is a recipe for making your own fish fingers but for the most part that is putting a coating of seasoned breadcrumbs on chunks of firm white fish with a little beaten egg. There is of course still good old Captain  Birdseye!
For the slightly inebriated you have a fish butty with curry flavoured mayonnaise - wonderful!
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Then of course there are left overs.


Toad in the Hole
Last week I had a few chorizo sausages, some new potatoes and sweetcorn with peas. I felt that was rather bland and then discovered an egg, plain flour and milk - naturally toad in the hole. It was quite an easy dish to produce, roast the sausages in the hot oven for ten minutes before pouring over the batter, then cook for around 30 minutes.
The toads in situ!
In these days of health and safety and the demise of common sense this meal would probably be banned, or at least prepared wearing goggles, a hard hat and a high viz jacket. The oven has to be very hot, then you have to pour batter on to the searingly hot oil and sausages!
If you try these kids make sure an adult is supervising.
God Bless

Writing - Playing away and researching

I am playing away today and so will be storing places and people in my mind for future writing projects.
Buxton, Derbyshire
Huddersfield Choral are singing at St John the Baptist's Church this evening. Included in the programme is a selection from Rachmaninov's Vespers (All Night Vigil).



Many of the places I have visited have featured in some of the books below as well as some of the human interactions. 




The other books available in the portfolio,
Steele   My hero was created post recession and so has no concept of how 'good' things were pre-2008. In 'I Have To Get It Right' when he began to flex his muscles he was working in an accountant's office. Then after the Gurentai took him under their wing and removed all of his financial worries, it was justice that was his major concern. He did become involved in international relations in 'The 51st State' but it was for the maintenance of a respectful distance between countries, rather than economic reasons. His trips into the USA had repercussions which can be read about in 'The Biter Bit' but then by the time things began to change in 2011 and the recession was really biting, Steele was trying to make sense of the state of the nation in 'A Changed Reality' and coming up against some really nasty people taking advantage of the shortage of money. By the time the USA are out of their recession Steele's steps are still being dogged by an unknown enemy from the same country. In 'Inceptus' we also find out more about what makes the man tick. The most recent Steele book 'Castled' where Steele is once again at risk from unseen enemies. It would seem that he has become quite recession proof!The most recent addition to the Steele family is Earth plc in which our hero is concerned with political and emotional issues in this crime fighting adventure.
All books are available in paperback or ebook through Amazon, Smashwords and all good book shop websites.


Cessation 


This is a dystopian story that hinges directly on the state of the nation as a result of fiscal mismanagement. Having said that it is more a story of human relations, privations, love and loss.


Poetry - there are also two thoughtful collections of poetry available solely through Amazon.


The Musings of a Confused Mind 


and


Words from the Raindrops 

God Bless