David L. Atkinson's Blog, page 87

Writing - Time's a-pressing

To finish the sentence begun in the title 
'as the monkey said when the clock fell on it'
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In short I have a great deal on today, so much so that I can't see me getting any of Grace and Favour written, just when the story is taking me towards a surprising conclusion.
Do you ever find that it isn't procrastination that jumps in the way of the writing process but rather life? Today is one of those. Even so, you may observe, I'm making time to write this blog. In fact blogging is an essential part of life's track and after all it IS writing. So rather than leave you without any contact today I'm blogging early in the day and have provided reminders of the works already published.

Today's Health Warning - sitting down at work is the new smoking!!!!
My 10 books as of December 2014
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 thin collections of poetry available solely through Amazon.
The Musings of a Confused Mind 
and
Words from the Raindrops 

God Bless
Visit David L's profile on Pinterest.

Writing - Language, humour and misunderstandings

Language is the most beautiful God given gift that we have had bestowed upon us. Apparently, the level of sophistication of our language and our ability to use it for reasoning, is one of the factors that separates us from other animals. You just have to listen to a football crowd chanting to appreciate what I'm saying!

The frustrating thing for a writer is the misuse and dumbing down of our vehicle. An example that irritated me last week was intended to be educational. Children all over the UK were given the chance to be newscasters and reporters, one of the adverts had a girl who was speaking into a microphone and said,
'What kind of a story are we talking?'
Forgive me for being picky but if we are trying to educate our youngsters surely we need to have them use the language in an acceptable manner. As it stands the above is incomplete and therefore just wrong.
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I'm not talking about returning to 1950s BBC speak. As I have often been heard to say there is only one all-pervading factor in life and that is change. Language is dynamic and forever changing but within that we should maintain a framework of what is acceptable. The rapidity of changes in language is increasing but it is my contention that those changes driven by Twitter speak and the like are actually driving a linguistic wedge between the generations. In the development of that process some of the beauty of our language will disappear in a sea of acronyms.
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I received an email the other day that was purely for amusement and lists some real remarks between lawyers and witnesses. The fun is inescapable but it is fundamentally the language in a courtroom context that causes that amusement. Here are some extracts.

ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci, sweats and Reeboks.

ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No, I just lie there.


ATTORNEY: This Myasthenia Gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?WITNESS: I forget..ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?


ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: He's 20, much like your IQ.


ATTORNEY: Doctor , how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight.

And Lastly:
ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?WITNESS: No.ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?WITNESS: No..ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?WITNESS: No.ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practising Law.
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By continuing to write stories, blogs and the like we are disseminating the language and should continue to do so. That action will maintain our own view of the language and hopefully standards.Keep writing.
God Bless

Poetry Thursday 153 - Rhyming alternatives

It's been a bit of a crazy mixed up week with stimuli flying around like pollen in a meadow.
Firstly there was contact with children bless 'em which reminded me of all the joy and heartache.
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Children love ‘em!
From wet at both ends and screaming,to the growing up and leaving,children, like crampons on ice,dig into your life but believe they’re nice.You feel each pin prick or driven spikein both your heart and brain alike,but you take a deep breath and smile,covering up the corrupted file,so that your little one will never know,the occasional hurt that they bestow.© David L Atkinson March 2015

Then there was the idea of escaping from the ties and stresses of the modern world. The title is supposed to be a representation of the word 'meditation' in Japaneses, but I discovered this longer but more descriptive phrase which translates as 'think carefully closing my eyes'

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Meo tsubute yoku kangaeru koto

Stretching your body and relaxing,contorting its shape then reforming,eases the mind from the daily path,pleases the conscience in aftermath.As to its place in the world,as the artificial fog is unfurled,things become clearer to the mind,brings reality like light to the blind.Refreshes the view of your real place,erases the influence of a godless rat race.© David L Atkinson March 2015

Finally, I remember being asked how many units of alcohol I drink 
in a week and started totting up but got side tracked and it came 
out like the following!



How many units?
No alcoholic could surviveon such meagre supplies to stay alive.Taylor’s aperitif before lunch on Sundayand an Oban to wash the day away.Nothing but a tawny port on Monday,an arid sojourn makes up all of Tuesday,and only monthly Taylors on Wednesday,a choir driven Taylors thirst on Thursday,and yet more singing driven needs on Friday,fortnightly liquid lunches oscillate on Saturday,which returns us to a Taylors lunch on Sunday.© David L Atkinson March 2015


In all honesty the poetry today is frankly frivolous, a fun-filled 
frippery, of feeble frolics through the options of rhyming.
It isn't always necessary to rhyme in writing poetry but if one does 
then there are a whole host of options some of which are exampled 
above.

God Bless

Writing - A parody for fun

Somebody sent me this today and I couldn't resist sharing it. The parody works better if you sing the song - tune is Favourite things from the Sound of Music
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Botox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favorite things.

Cadillacs and cataracts, hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favorite things.

When the pipes leak, When the bones creak,
When the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.

Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favorite things.

Back pain, confused brains and no need for sinnin',
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',
And we won't mention our short shrunken frames,
When we remember our favorite things.

When the joints ache, When the hips break,
When the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I've had,
And then I don't feel so bad.


Now I wonder how many of you did sing, and I bet if you did it brought a smile to your lips. Another example of the power of words. In the film the song is sung in Julie Andrews bedroom to the children who have congregated there as they are frightened by a thunder storm. The above parody of the song is welcome light relief to people of a certain age.

My 10 books as of December 2014
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 thin collections of poetry available solely through Amazon.
The Musings of a Confused Mind 
and
Words from the Raindrops 

God Bless
Visit David L's profile on Pinterest.

Tuesday food view - Don't eat ... !

The blog today sprang from some advertisements for a new TV programme which began last week and the first piece of news I heard this morning which was that children are not eating 5 a-day.
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The television programme was about sugar. Yes that is it, just sugar. I didn't watch it. My mother told me about sugar when I was young, that too much can make you fat, that it wasn't good for your teeth and then there was the old wive's tale - it gives you worms!Okay so that's about it - why do we need an hour's TV on the substance? Well its all about obesity and the amount of sugar put in processed foods.
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A friend of mine was telling me of a Peruvian girl who thought that baked beans should be a pudding. She was correct in saying that it was sweet, there's loads of sugar in the food which is why children, and me, like baked beans. But as a pudding!!!!!
In fact from a health point of view its not just too much sugar but also too much salt and in fact anything that is unnatural. Processing food is the problem following hot on the heels of profit. If food companies produced food in its natural state without enhancements people wouldn't buy it and kids wouldn't eat the stuff. So how do they ensure sales? They add sugar and make extravagant health benefit claims, and at times, even produce a 'lite' version which is usually high in something else equally unhealthy.

The news item about children not eating enough fruit and vegetables was on the TV this morning. It included the interviewing of a health education teacher at a breakfast club in a primary school and two children having their packed lunches inspected by a doctor. It made me smile. The idea of breakfast clubs to help towards childminding the children of working parents was introduced about ten years ago. I used to help supervise a couple of mornings each week and the children had the option of cereal and toast with a drink. It was a social benefit to some as they were often turfed out of the house without breakfast. The school made a nominal charge and we even tried pieces of fruit however, the take up of fruit wasn't good enough to balance costs and waste when it wasn't eaten.
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I did feel for one of the children, about eight or nine years old, who had a tray of fresh pineapple, an apple and a milk shake as a drink. She was told that there was too much pineapple and the milk shake was bad - too much sugar. The child was told by the doctor not to eat too much fruit as it was full of sugar! Yes fructose, unrefined natural sugar. I'm sure that child's mum thought she was sending her child to school with something quite healthy and foods that the child would consume readily.
I'm sure these people would have us grazing on our lawns  rather than eating proper food.
Soapbox time
Once again I feel the need to leap on my soapbox. If we spent time producing natural foods and not trying to engineer profit from absolutely everything our children would have fewer unhealthy choices. Oh its true that we may have fewer multi billionaires but somehow I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.
God Bless

Writing - The power of words

It is interesting to consider how we use words when we write. In conversation a sentence can be taken several different ways, body language and tone can alter meaning but in writing stories we don't have those two options.

Recently, I was present at a meeting which became somewhat contentious. The issue was eventually voted on and one of the people who was involved in the discussions voted against a proposed motion. In fact that person was voting against something that she'd previously supported but because of emotions and words said, she went against her own wishes.
Even the Bible has several pronouncements on the power of words one of which comes from Matthew,
'But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned'
If you take that sentence literally and consider what you have said 
in the past we would all be in trouble. 
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I remember this chant when at school, well the first two lines, 
which were used as a defence against name calling. However, the 
whole rhyme is somewhat more telling about the affect of cruel 
words. How often have you reflected on things that have been said 
and in the privacy of your own space felt deeply upset by those 
words spoken?
When we write we are the managers of relationships and the 
controller of moods, attitudes and situations. Seemingly simple 
statements are our weapons of choice and can be calibrated to 
achieve whatever ends we require in stories.

[image error]Tom DeMarco
Author Tom DeMarco dedicated a chapter of his book Slack - Getting Past Burnout, Busywork and The Myth of Total Efficiency to the phrase. In fact the power of words to destroy in business as well as other parts of our lives are possibly more frightening as livelihoods and even sanity are at stake. Also, as I found when working for a high street bank, these corporations have adopted a version of language totally positive irrespective of the negative actions being planned or carried out. This results in people being disciplined and not really realising what happened until they're told that the next step could lead to dismissal. Suddenly they're in a cycle that in its early stages seemed innocuous and yet in the end they could lose their jobs. The process is language based.

Vocabulary is the tool chest of writers, however, it is possible to develop an habitual vocabulary which can limit our work. Transformational vocabulary is a conscious process of changing the habitual vocabulary that you use and can lead to altering the way you feel, think and subsequently change the dialogue that is used in your writing. 
The bottom line in all of this is choose words wisely.
God Bless

My view of this weeks news

I have to be a little biased towards the news this week and make no apologies.
1. Gus Poyet out Dick Advocaat in.
[image error]                                      [image error]Gus Poyet                                                                          Dick Advocaat
Yet another manager bites the dust. Let's hope the Dutchman can save Sunderland.
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2. Who is the judge?
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Four judges have lost their positions due to watching online porn on their business computers! Even 13 year olds know how to delete their browsing history!
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3. Which bird will be the Brits choice?
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The UK is one of the few countries in the world that doesn't have a national bird and there have been 10 native birds for the populace to select from. As I am old enough to remember farthings it would have to be the wren, pictured above, for me as it was featured on that coin of the realm. Other options are the red kite, puffin, golden eagle, robin etc.
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4. Last budget of the parliament
George Osborne - Chancellor
As always a budget generates much discussion, even arguments. I made a choice to watch the whole debarcle and was again disgusted at the behaviour of our elected representatives. Is it any wonder that people have no respect for politicians when it is painfully obvious they have no respect for each other?
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5. Louis the Cathedral Cat

Louis is the cathedral cat in Wells, Somerset and has become a firm favourite with people working there and visitors alike. However, he's in trouble as a cat fitting his description has been attacking local dogs.
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6. Baby names faux pas
[image error]Ryan Reynolds
The process of naming your children can be a can of worms. In Iceland there is a prescribed list of 1100 names to choose from which I believe is a little extreme but what parents need to consider are scenarios like school playgrounds, calling for your child in public and so on. In his infinite wisdom Canadian actor, Ryan Reynolds, has named his daughter James. Yes - a boy's name - that isn't a misprint!
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7. Pine martens in Cornwall

A wildlife enthusiast has captured photographs of these illusive mammals in the west country this week. They had been extinct in Southern Britain since the 1960s.
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8. No holding umbrellas in Burma
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It is considered embarrassing for a man to hold an umbrella for a woman in Burma.
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9. Orang-outangs amplifiers
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Orang utans cup their hands round the mouth to make themselves sound noisier. Should have heard the orang utans in the houses of parliament on Wednesday!
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10. Choose your tax rate.
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Mali struggle to collect much more than 1% or 2% tax and have come up with a plan. People are compelled to go to the tax office and choose their preferred tax rate. They're given the choice between 3% or 30%.
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God Bless

Writing - A partial eclipse and International happiness day

What a spectacular day! A partial eclipse of the sun across the UK with up to 98% of the sun obscured by the moon, and International Day of Happiness.
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Of course, in history, the nature of eclipses has terrified primitive peoples and so generated numerous stories.
China
 The Chinese once believed that an eclipse was caused by an invisible dragon eating the Sun. They believed that if they created a great commotion with drummers drumming and archers shooting arrows in the sky, the dragon would be frightened away and daylight would return.
The Bible
And on that day,’ says the Lord God, ’I will make the Sun go down at noon, and darken the Earth in broad daylight.
Japan
In Japan, the people once believed that poison drops from the sky during an eclipse. To prevent the poison from dropping into their drinking water, they covered all the wells during an eclipse.
India
  In India, the people also believed that a dragon was responsible for eclipses. During an eclipse, the people “immersed themselves in water up to their necks,” hoping that this kind of worship would help the Sun and the Moon defend themselves against the dragon.
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Moving on from stories of dragons eating the sun, today we're being asked what makes us happy. In conjunction with that some research has been published today telling us that over 50% of us experience loneliness!

A second Happy Cafe has opened in London this week. Perhaps I'm just an old cynic but the idea of scribbling happy thoughts on a wall, or lying on the floor being forced to laugh (laughter therapy) with a bunch of strangers, doesn't fill me with the need to visit such an establishment. In fact, if anything, it would generate feelings of insecurity and stress before it would cheer me up.
We are asked questions such as - does watching sport make you happy? Surely the answer to that is - it depends. If my team is doing well, then yes it would make me happy on the other hand if they weren't playing well and losing I would oscillate between the depths of despair and incandescent rage. 
Who is it that generates this sort of crap?
What will make me happy today, may hardly dent tomorrow and could possibly depress me the day after that. Human emotions don't work if they're forced and they aren't always triggered by the same stimuli. Why bother trying to group people and label them when the simple fact is that all people are fundamentally different from each other. That is the richness of humanity.
What would make me happy today would be a degree of success in selling books and some recognition that my writing is worth a read.



My 10 books as of December 2014
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 thin collections of poetry available solely through Amazon.
The Musings of a Confused Mind 
and
Words from the Raindrops 

God Bless
Visit David L's profile on Pinterest.

Writing - An author exposed

When you complete a story and decide to present it to be published Caleb Pirtle tells us that it is akin to walking into the publishers office naked and turning round slowly.
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Self-publishing can be no less daunting. True you are not even getting to the publisher's office but you are putting your stories out there to be 'viewed'. I wrote the other day of the paranoia that writers live with and having someone reviewing your stories adds to that insecurity. Let me explain.

One of the questions that authors being interviewed are often asked is - 'How much of you is in this story (character etc)?' I have heard authors trying to answer as honestly as they can, but never quite clarifying the level of self-involvement in their work. In my opinion the bottom line is everyone who writes something is pouring themselves, their interactions, their emotions and opinions into what they write. The difficulties arise from the nature of the characters and action written. If an author produces a story riddled with sex and violence, or a serial killer, or a super hero how can they admit to having put much of themselves into the story without generating interest from the appropriate authorities? So you hear evasive responses to the question because the situation isn't that simple.
The paranoia and feelings of being stripped bare come from the feeling that you have put so much of yourself into your stories and, for me, leads to a distinct reticence over reviews of my work. BUT in that lies a problem. As I wrote the other day, writers want to be better at what they do, and that will happen through practice but would be more rapidly achieved with the right sort of advice in reviews. However, reviewers need to be positive and sensitive.
[image error]For 'banker' read 'author'
It is necessary for a level of sensitivity because of the amount of the writer's life that is in the story. So when I self-publish my books I have avoided the standing naked in the publisher's office scenario, however, there is still the threat of a scathing review. When I used to sell paperback versions of my books I often asked people to complete a review on Amazon or wherever, but now I don't ask at all. Writing is something I'm fully involved in and being recognised as a writer is an ambition but negative criticism I'd rather not know about.
In some measure a justification for my insecurity is based  on the amount of me that is in my writing and that exposes my own problems with self-esteem. Of course there is another serious drawback to not receiving positive reviews - simply - a lack of success! What more can I say?
Selling books personally has a couple of positive results. Firstly, if people request a second or a third story; and secondly, when you receive comments on the story which are invariably positive as they are made face-to-face. 
I will never stop writing, in fact I don't think I could if I wanted to, so if you are considering buying one of my stories and fancy lodging a review - please be gentle!
God Bless

Poetry Thursday 152 - Whatever happened?

Both poems this week are rooted in the nature of our lives. The first is really about daring to take a risk, they're not real risks just a deviation from your norm.

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Life on tramlines
Routine is the pap of apathy,feeding the murder of creativityand is the magnolia of safe landscapes.
Dare you jump the tracksinto the unknown cracksbetween life’s stolid sleepers?
Go on, leave the mundane and secure,go to the dark places that allure,promising a risky nirvana.
Step out to the very edge of the precipice,feel the risky tingle of unknown bliss,and startle those nay sayers.© David L Atkinson March 2015
This second poem is one which can be adapted by anyone who wishes to go down the road of writing a poem. It can be filled with the changes in your own life.This one is not complete or exclusive but I completed it rather like someone taking a word association test. It really doesn't need a lot of planning. 
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Whatever
Whatever happened to   bread toasted on crackling fires   and radios connected by wires?
Or to   the bobbie on the beat   and playing in the street?
Or to   shops closed on Sundays   and Blackpool for holidays?
Or to   240 pennies in the pound   and milk roll that was round?
Or to   blue/black ink in fountain pens   and eggs collected from free range hens?
Or to   the cane in school   for playing the fool?
Or to   masters in black cloaks flitting like bats   and ladies wearing pinned Sunday hats?
Or to   ice cream delivered by boys on bikes   and children learning to ride their trikes?
Or to   new clothes bought on dividend days   and children going to church school on Sundays?
Or to   the rag and bone man with his horse and cart   and cars with handles for their engines to start?
© David L Atkinson March 2015
Definitely a poem to play with.
God Bless