D.A. Cairns's Blog, page 16

Celebrate the Small Things: good-bye and good riddance

I'm going off a week early here, but that's because a secondary departure occurred which also pleased me. The primary departure will occur when my my current least favourite student, and arguably my least favourite student of all time, leaves.

I've had a real struggle with him over the six months he has been with me. The first day I met him, he explained that his grammar and spelling were not good, so I told him that we could fix that. He said 'No, we can't.' I knew, therefore, from the get go that he was going to be difficult, if not impossible, to teach. How do you teach unteachable people? How do you open closed minds? I have no idea.

Rather than bore you with the details, I'll save my X (student's name) stories for other occasions. Suffice to say, he has caused me angst and made my job difficult. A mostly negative influence on the class, a bigot and a self confessed misanthrope, he will not be missed. 

Secondary departure occurred when another student, who also possesses a poor attitude and is lazy, decided to transfer to another college to do another course. I desperately wanted to advise him to lose the attitude or he would bomb out of his next course as he did my course. However, as he only showed up for three hours this week (out of 20 required) to do his catch up assessments and exit test, I thought better of it.

My problem is that I care more about the education of my students than most of them do. I love my job and I am thankful for it. I am also thankful for my students-past, present and future, both good and bad. I am thankful that I care, and that after 11 years, I still care, and by the grace of God I have not grown weary in doing my best.

The challenge for me remains though; to love the unlovable. How do you deal with closed-minded and negative people, especially those with whom you spend a fair bit of time?

Celebrate the small things: a crocodile burger

What makes Mindil Beach market special is the location. A mouth-watering collection of food from around the world is available and once you have your food you can walk not more than 50 metres to the beach where you can sit and watch the spectacular sunset.

I don't know if a Darwin sunset is uniquely extraordinary in fact, or by reputation alone, but it is something magnificent to behold. It is a natural light show of stunning beauty.

Usually there are but a handful of people on the beach to say good-bye to the day, but on Thursday nights during the Dry with the market teeming with locals and visitors, the sand is littered with happy and relaxed people. The atmosphere is heavenly.

Last Thursday, Jessie and I were among them. She ate some barbecued octopus while I had my first taste of crocodile. The Road Kill Cafe offered a selection of buffalo, kangaroo and crocodile burgers. Having often eaten and enjoyed kangaroo, and sampled a buffalo pie at the Pink Panther Hotel on our road trip up to the Top End, I wanted to try crocodile.

The verdict? Quite nice. A tender patty which was like a combination of chicken and fish, on a roll with fresh slaw, and sauce. The hot chips which accompanied it were really great, and the whole meal only cost $15. I liked the burger, and I loved the whole experience.

What a sweet life I live. I thank God for it.

What unusual foods have you tried, and what did you think?

Before the Dawn

Title: Before the Dawn: A Howl in the Night Book 3Author: Courtney ReneISBN: 978-1-62420-325-1Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Excerpt Heat Level: 1Book Heat Level: 2
Buy at: Rogue Phoenix Press, Amazon, Barnes and Noble


Courtney will be giving away a digital copy of Before the Dawn.





TAGLINE
Darkness continues to haunt Abby since her escape from the Hunterz. Questions continue to circle.Who are they, really? Why do they hate the wolves so much?


BLURB
Seventeen year old Abby can’t shake the darkness that continues to haunt her since her escape from the Hunterz. She can’t let it go. Questions continue to circle. Questions no one will answer. Who are they, really? Why do they hate the wolves so much? The answers could be found in a young boy named, Sam. He may be from the Hunterz, but he smells of wolf. Derek wants to believe her, and tries to help, but Abby still hasn’t learned how to accept help from others. Her relationships with her mother and father continue to deteriorate, but Derek is a puzzle. Some days he’s exactly what she wants and others he is all that she despises. Being a shifter isn’t as simple as she thought it would be. The wolf part is easy. It’s the human side that needs a little work.
EXCERPT
I huddled in the darkness, barely aware of the passing hours and days. The wolf ate when she was hungry. She found mice and rodents to catch and devour. I was barely aware of the chase or the joy she found in the hunt. The wolf drank from streams and creeks along her journey. She slept when she was tired and traveled the rest of it.
I was aware the forest was starting to look familiar, but I didn't care enough to wonder why or where I was. When the big white sprawling house came before us, I realized the wolf had brought us to the only other place she knew to go: Aunt Lilly's.
I didn't leave the safety within the wolf when we arrived at the house. I was aware when we stepped onto the porch and dropped to the cool white washed boards where the wolf curled up and slept, but I stayed safe, hidden deep. The wolf and the instincts that drove her protected us. I was happy to let her lead. I was happy to be carried wherever she decided to go. I slept as the wolf did throughout the rest of the night.
When the wolf woke, I woke with her. We were still curled on the porch, but we were within a pile of dogs that had come to keep us safe and warm and offer company. The wolf was happy for the companions, as I was not able to be one. I was silent and empty and had nothing to give right then. I had nothing left to offer her.
I saw my Aunt come out on the porch, and I saw the moment she recognized me for what I was. "Abby, honey. What are you doing here?"
I shrank back deeper within the wolf, and as the wolf had nothing to say to her in that form, Aunt Lilly was left at a loss. She crouched down before us and ran her hands over my head and down my back. "You look a little worse for wear. Do you want to come in and eat? Maybe get a shower and some clothes?"
I wasn't coming out of the wolf form. I realized that had been my intention the whole time. I simply hadn't been ready to face it. I was obviously not very good as a human, so I would try being a wolf for a bit. I used a little more energy and turned my head away from her and dropped it back down on my front paws.
"Abby? What's wrong?"
I had no answer for her, so I didn't move or acknowledge her question. I didn't know what to tell her. I was still feeling sorry for myself, and I didn't have a plan of how to fix it other than to ignore it. I was happy as a wolf. Why did I have to be a human anyway?
She stayed crouched down next to me for a long time. She tried to talk to me, but I didn't answer. Finally, she gave up and stepped back. Her dog friends stayed with me, protecting me in their own way. She surveyed the pile of us then said, "Well, I guess I'll check on you in a bit."
I closed my eyes and went back to sleep. I spent the next few days hardly moving a muscle. What was the point? Aside from getting up to empty my bladder or get a drink of water, I stayed on the porch, quiet and still. Aunt Lilly stopped trying to talk to me, but she did continue to sit with me and offer what comfort she could by way of gentle caresses or tidbits of food she could tempt me with, or just simple water. The best part was when she sat in the white rocker and just rocked. Her being there was enough. Sometimes when she sat there, I would get up and sit next to her, just to be close to someone who gave a damn about me. Just me. Not what I could do for her, or what I could do for the clan. She just cared about me.
Why was I so unlovable by everyone else? Why didn't my mother want me anymore? Why did my father only see me for what I offered the clan? Why didn't Derek just want me? Why. Why. Why! What was so wrong with just being me?
It was times like those that even in wolf form I was able to cry. When the hurt of the world grew to immense I could not hold it in anymore. I cried the sounds of the wolf, even if it didn't come with the tears of a human. Aunt Lilly wouldn't press or talk, she was simply there with me as I tried to handle the sadness overwhelming me. She'd caress my head and continue to rock.
I don't know how long things went on like that. Maybe a few days, maybe it was an entire week. I do know when it came to an abrupt end. Morning arrived with a definite chill in the air. I didn't notice the cold all that much, thanks to my warm fur, but also because Aunt Lilly's dogs took shifts with what I thought of as protecting me. There were always a handful of them, either lying next to me or with me, or whatever. I was never cold or alone. They knew I was hurting and they in their animal wisdom stayed with me as comfort. Animals are awesome. People…suck.
AUTHOR BIO:
Courtney Rene lives in the State of Ohio with her husband and two children. She is a graduate and member of the Institute of Children’s Literature. Her writings include magazine articles, short fiction stories, several anthologies, as well as her young adult novels, A Howl in the Night and the Shadow Dancer series, published through Rogue Phoenix Press. For a complete listing, visit www.ctnyrene.blogspot com or feel free to contact her at ctnyrene@aol.com.

Website URL: Www.Courtneyrene.comBlog URL: www.ctnyrene.blogspot.comFacebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Shadow-Dancer-and-more-by-Courtney-Rene-164433473646449/Twitter handle: @ctnyrene

Celebrate the small things: a bit of greenery

Cities are not typically associated with trees. I know most cities have parks and they have trees, but, for me anyway, when I think of cities I think of tall buildings and lots of cars of people. Noise, street signs, advertising, busyness etcetera, which I think is the reason I like Darwin. Darwin doesn't really feel like a city.

There are tall buildings: offices, hotels and apartments, and there are cars and people, but not many. It's pretty quiet all around. It's also quite green. Our street, which is a short narrow one running between two main streets, has trees and even a grass verge to separate the sidewalk from the road. The two aforementioned streets are lined with trees, serious trees: large and leafy ones which overhang the road and provide shade for the smokers.

Darwin is a green city. During the dry season ubiquitous built-in irrigation systems sustain the faunic (another new word there - when will this end?) thirst, and of course when the rains come, the city shifts to a whole new level of green.

Finally, this week, I am thankful for the arrival of green into our apartment. Jessie decided we needed some plants on the balcony because, she said, it will help keep the apartment cool - even though that's what the air conditioning is for (I didn't say). I like the plants because they make this place feel like a home instead of a hotel apartment.

I reckon out of everything you can do to make a house feel like a home, adding plants is right up there. What do you think?

Celebrate the small things: Would you like a beer with your haircut?

Before any of you smarty pants want to comment about my lack of hair and the therefore completely redundant need for me to visit a hairdresser, I should tell you that the guy at the salon we visited had the same cut as me and he insisted that his girls 'layered it' for him, and told him it looked good.

Jessie Rose was the one who booked a haircut at HD Hair Studio in Smith St, Darwin. Reluctantly I accepted her invitation to accompany her, comforting myself with the thought that I would be able to get some reading done while Jessie had her wash, blow and cut.

Upon our arrival at the salon, we were greeted by the aforementioned handsome fellow, who offered us a seat and a drink. Water, coffee, tea, wine or beer? I looked at him wondering if he knew he was in a hair salon not a bar. 'It's complimentary,' he said. 'Yes,' I replied with excessive enthusiasm - because I like beer and 'free' is my favourite price. I have never heard of complimentary alcoholic beverages at hair salons, but I rarely visit them, so perhaps HD is not unique.

I had two free beers (Millers Chill with lime) while I read The Count of Monte Cristo on my phone and listened to a selection of 80s classics. 

I have never had a more enjoyable visit to a hairdresser and they didn't even touch my head. It cost $90 which Jessie assured me was a reasonable price, and she was happy with the cut so it was all good. Everyone's a winner, baby!

What's the service like where you get your hair done?

Perfect Timing

Author Jeffery J. Smith  will be awarding a digital copy of Perfect Timing to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Title: Perfect TimingAuthor: Jeffery J. SmithISBN: 978-1-62420-321-3Genre: Sci-fiExcerpt Heat Level: 1Book Heat Level: 1 Buy at: Rogue Phoenix Press, Amazon, Barnes and Noble




TAGLINEAccidentally sucked from the present, caterer Crik must prove he started the trend that led to the future’s utopia—or be returned to waiting bullets.
 BLURB Accidentally transported to the future, caterer Crik escapes house-arrest with Tepper, his possible distant descendant. While pursued by volunteer vigilante Voltak, goofball Crik explores Geotopia—where buildings grow, people incorporate animal powers, smart phones know it all, and vehicles defy gravity—seeking clues. If he can discover, understand, and articulate the future’s public policy that works right for everybody, he can prove he was their founder, the lone agent of change who put society on its path toward universal prosperity and harmony with nature. If he fails to convince the Futurite Authorities, they wouldn’t return their unexpected visitor to the exact second he left—something their law requires—to the moment when a hail of gunfire was bearing down on the luckless caterer and college dropout...would they? EXCERPT The image of a bellhop perches first on one leg then the other by the edge of a roof of a downtown skyscraper. Gazing downward, with both hands he raises a golf club over his head. The scene occurs on a large monitor.Far below, the people look like a school of minnows flitting across the downtown central plaza. Others resemble tufts of beach grass clumped around street performers break dancing or juggling. The bellhop arches his back.In a darkened laboratory, two wide-eyed technicians wearing white coats watch the monitor. In grainy color, the young man bends and stretches. Mouths agape, the viewers take notes and wipe their brows."This is your candidate?" the taller researcher says. "This golfer? Crik Duvall?"The shorter one nods. "He's a bellhop, too."
~ * ~1
At the wall atop the city's tallest hotel, Crik in the hotel's uniform lowers his club. The height does not frighten him, rather, the view always intrigues him. People sure look little, Crik thinks. Must be how landlords see us.Crik takes a few practice swings. He steps back from the edge and tees up. He drives a Whiffle golf ball into the air without a hitch. The headwind blows the hollow ball back to him. He catches it. Yes! He replaces the plastic ball on the tee — yo-yo golf.Lifting his bellhop cap, Crik runs his fingers through bleached streaks. Yo-yo golf will challenge enthusiasts of all nations, even become an Olympic event. I could pay down my tuition. Even help Randy with his debt. How dumb, messing with dudes from the vodka importers convention. What'd he know about ostrich racing anyway?Crik's knuckles are tattooed with esoteric symbols. A stud twinkles in one ear but no weighty choker worries his swing. He's up to twenty-three straight successful drives-then-catches, closing in on his personal best.The word "Fore!" rings out from a phone in his pocket, but he ignores it.Steadying himself, Crik cocks his club for another swing and drives the white ball into the onrushing breeze."Crik!"Crik blinks. The plastic dot sails past him, into the void. Zippers."Whenever you don't answer your phone, I know where to find you."Crik looks over his shoulder, resting the club on his other one.Randy lets the door close behind him. "My man, break be over." Also a bellhop, Randy has his cap is on backwards. As he crosses the roof, his body lags behind his head, his neck nearly level.Like offering his empty melon to a guillotine, poor sucker. Crik takes out a twenty-dollar bill. "Another big date before next payday, bro?""Man, you are like family." Randy takes the note.
~ * ~
"'Crik'. That short for cricket?" People always ask.No, Crik was named Crik because Brook was already taken; his older brother got named that."Oh, I get it," the hotel manager said when interviewing Crik, "Creek."Crik nodded. His hair waved, didn't curl, despite him being the black sheep of the family. "Yeah, Crik."Crik is too busy to finish college. How many decades would it take to pay off the student loan — a necklace of stone — anyway? Especially with good friends unable to budget themselves. Better to have a fun job. Make money and enjoy life.
~ * ~
In the gloomy laboratory, tall Dr. Alvin Ultra and his short assistant Yuri Ivanov, both middle-aged, emit gasps and wag their heads, jotting down notes.The monitor, thin as a sheet, hangs from a ceiling in a high corner. It's cabled to a device shaped like an oversized dog biscuit with a sharp point like a syringe, big as a sled, some parts shiny, some opaque. Colored wires twist and run to other odd-shaped devices that whir and jerk.Crik hides his club on the ledge beyond the perimeter wall.Dr. Ultra glances at Yuri. "Neither of these two has indicated any interest in social evolution, never mind founding an entirely new way of viewing the world."Under his beret and bushy eyebrows, Yuri shrugs. "Destinon said to check out this moment."
~ * ~
The two bellhops enter the hotel's darkened conference hall. It's packed like a tent revival on the eve of the Second Coming. Of course. Who hates money?Strains of Wagner's majestic movements accompany the big-screen video of unabashed luxury: Acres of vineyards remind Crik of the south of France where he'd backpacked one summer. A sleek car barely looking street-legal swerves through hills."Tesla Roadster," Crik whispers to Randy. "0 to 60 in 3.7."On the screen, a limousine grand enough for comfortably hosting small celebrations sits in the driveway of a mansion with the long lines of Frank Lloyd Wright draped over a seaside cliff. Inside, fashion models adorned with jewelry befriend vain hosts sipping champagne. Famous paintings hang on the walls.Crik leans over to his pal. "I've a print of that Van Gogh.""With his autograph?" Randy whispers.Crik frowns. "Ethics teaches us virtue is its own reward."Randy frowns. "Economics teaches that reward is its own virtue."My reward would be to never get another bill, late notice, or harassing phone call.A sharp-dressed salesman in a flawless Armani suit strides onstage. His shiny hair neatly styled, Julian Seizure keeps his posture erect and full-chested, as would a cocksure general before his troops. His blistering smile stretches his narrow-featured face.Seizure fires his words forcefully and pounds the air with a fist, keeping time with his avarice. "Andrew Carnegie, a billionaire back when a dime bought you a complete breakfast, noted, and I quote: 'It takes hard work to amass a fortune in industry, but any fool can get rich in real estate.'"Perking up, Randy whispers to Crik, "Did he say any fool?" His eyebrows bounce up and down.The big screen shows slender beauties gliding in Olympic-size pools and robust businessmen driving golf balls a mile down the links. The pitchman exhales. "The old boy nailed it. Nothing else comes close to how much people pay over the course of their lives for a place to live. Directly or indirectly, a big part of everyone's spending goes to a lease or mortgage."The sea of heads nod in assent. The speaker opens his hands in empathy. "Since all of us have been foolish at least once …"Amid the sea of heads, only Randy bobs agreeably — until he sees nobody else owning up and slinks lower into his seat."Why are we not all very well off?" The instant-riches guru taps his skull. "Foresight." Seizure stares down his audience. "It's not speculation when you see what's coming."Crik snorts. Too good to be true. "Why can't telling the unvarnished truth work to sell?""I believe!" Randy says."Time to go, bro." Crik tugs his friend's sleeve. "I've a better idea. You think Seizure plays golf?"
 AUTHOR BIO:
 Jeffery J. Smith’s credits are in nonfiction, being published in both the popular and academic press on “geonomics” (ecological economics). Before switching to fiction, he edited the news site, the Progress Report and contributed regularly to TruthOut. His newsletter, The Geonomist, won a California Greenlight Award. He taught both English and composition and was a graduate scholar in linguistics. An inventor of games and engines, he lives on the West Coast and winters in Latin America, listening to tall tales.

Celebrate the small things: returning to sugar

With the 2017 A - Z Blogging Challenge done and dusted, life has returned to normal - whatever normal is. I have new blog buddies, new heavy metal bands to enjoy and time to write. My long neglected WIP awaits nought but the return of inspiration and drive.

At work, after four short weeks due to a procession of public holidays concluding with May Day (which I didn't even know about until the Friday before), my pay packets will return this week to full, thus permitting my financial belt to be loosened.

About two months ago, an alien starting growing on my forearm. Initially diagnosed as a wart and treated as such, it eventually became apparent that this alien was not a wart. It turned out to be a squamous cell carcinoma which is a non melanoma form of skin cancer. Having been named and shamed by a skin specialist, the alien invader was removed with a scalpel and I received six stitches in its place. The stitches were removed last Friday and as a result, today I was able to return to the gym. Speaking of results; tests conducted on the alien showed it was non-malignant and I am in the clear. Thank God.

For reasons I won't go into now, I had been using white sugar in my tea since shifting to the Top End, but with the move into my new CBD apartment, I have returned to raw sugar, and bless me, it is great. I love the smell of raw sugar and it tastes sweeter too I reckon.

How has your week been? Any returns?

Roughly two out of every three Australians will be treated for some form of skin cancer by the time they reach 70. 750 000 people are treated for no-melanoma cancers every year, and the incidence is almost double for men compared to women.
a pictorial guide to skin cancer

2017 A to Z Blogging Challenge reflections post

Let the reflective countdown begin:
"Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror; but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely." - 1 Corinthians 13:12
5. Five reasons why this worked:
1.     The switch from a linkylist to using Facebook posts was a master stroke by the A - Z team. Much easier to participate and only active participants posted.2.     I met, as always (this was my 4th year in the Challenge), some new people, discovered some cool blogs and learned a few things.3.     From most of the blogs I visited and commented on, I received reciprocal action.4.     I successfully challenged some people's perceptions of heavy metal.5.     I enjoyed myself through discovering a whole bunch of new bands and expanding my knowledge of the diversity of my favourite music genre.
4. Four new bands I now want to hear more of because I've 'fallen in love" with them:
1.     A Breach of Silence (Australian metalcore)2.     Hiranya (Spanish metalcore)3.     Insomnium (Finnish melodic death metal)4.     Taberah (Australian heavy metal)
3. Three bands which just missed the 26 cut. There were other worthy contenders but three notables who were very close were:
1.     Nightwitch   (US heavy metal)2.     Barbie on Death Trip (German metalcore)3.     Barbarion (Australian parodic metal)
2. Two top commentors. My thanks to all who visited and commented, but in particular let me name the following bloggers:Keith Hillman Keith's RamblingsGeraint Issit Penguin Ponderings1. One reason why this was my best year so far in the A - Z: This year I wrote for myself. I wasn't trying to sell/promote my books, or increase traffic to/followers of my blog, I simply wrote about one of my passions. I guessed it would not be popular, but that wasn't the point. I write for myself, and that is the biggest thing I am taking away from the challenge this year.
I wish success and happiness to all of you, however you define those things, and I'll catch in 2018.
27 A to Z bands in all their glory (what? 27?)

Z is for Zombies Ate My Girlfriend

No judgments about whether the consumption of said girlfriend by the un-dead is a good thing or bad thing, but this South African band was born in Capetown in 2012. They play high energy 'modern metal' with lyrical focus on social commentary and the human journey (and perhaps the inhuman journey as well). 
I don't know what 'modern metal' is, unless it is the context of ancient metal like Bach, but more accurately, Zombies Ate My Girlfriend's genres are melodic death metal and groove metal. They've also won awards and are considered one of South Africa's premier heavy metal bands.  
Gavin Marchbank (vocals), Adriano Rodrgues and Chris Hall (guitars), Marc Olwage (bass) and Ferdi Groenewald (drums) are the band members, and their debut full length release, Retrocide (2015) features this track: Jahan
I took quite a risk choosing heavy metal as my theme. I've come across very few metal head bloggers and although I am a member of a headbangers Facebook group, they are not very interactive and none of them visited me during the A to Z Challenge.
I very rarely meet people who enjoy heavy metal to the extent that I do, to the degree that they would happily name it as their favourite genre, and call themselves headbangers. Amongst my friends and family, I have no one with whom to share my music apart from my son who as I mentioned in a previous post still enjoys a bit of metalcore. My ex-wife often described heavy metal as music for people with mental problems, and my current partner has a similar view, although she is more tolerant of bands at the milder end of the spectrum.
My point is that most people like popular music, that is pop and rock. Heavy metal, particularly the more extreme genres are not 'popular' music, so I was never going to attract a huge amount of comments, followers or whatever, but that wasn't the point.
I love heavy metal music, and I hope if you've visited me and checked out some of the bands, then perhaps your perceptions of heavy metal have been altered somewhat. 
Anyway, it's been a hoot. Thanks for joining me.
15 songs that will make you love melodic death metal

Y is for Yaksa

The world's most populous nation was bound to provide at least one of the featured headbanging bands in this A to Z. Hailing from the Chinese capital, Beijing, Yaksa are described  as nu-metal by Wikipedia, but they are metalcore, and I like them.
They are Hu Song (vocals). Huang Yao and Dao Xu (guitars), Gao Yufeng (bass), and Ma Lin (drums). In 2016, they released their fifth studio album, Undercurrent. This track is the title track from their previous record, You are not the Loser.