Chat Showing 1,251-1,300 of 1,501

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

They thought he was the original!

[Bernard]

Oh, another William Shakespeare? No, the Bard has been dead for centuries, but his works live on. It is not a common name, but with the billions of humans extant, there were bound to be more of them.

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

North Korea says children volunteering on state-run mines and farms

https://t.co/Eb7Ssy04t7

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

Breaking News: China announced that it would allow all families to have three children, ending a two-child policy that failed to boost declining birthrates. https://t.co/gotjGU3sh1

[Chris]

Random thought; I have noticed that magic in fiction tends to have a wide variety. I read a lot of fantasy fiction and I find it interesting how the concept of magic is broad across different cultures. The magic of the Lord of the Rings is functionally different to the Harry Potter series, which is different to the Children of Bond and Bone series, which is different to Madeline Miller’s interpretation of Circe.

So I’m currently looking into how magic has been portrayed in global culture, especially in mythology - how gods and goddesses of magic operated, and how heroes of magic acted in legends. If anyone has information about this subject, please share. This is a field I quite like to talk and learn about. For a genre as grand and deeply mythologized as fantasy, it is eye opening to look into where many of the ideas of magic come from.

[Bernard]

Quote of the Day

"Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes".

Mercedes Lackey

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

Do you pick a new topic every week?

[Bernard]

I do not post every week. But I could not resist a quote about the behaviour of evil magicians.

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

Always appreciate your posts Bernard. Just trying to extend the interesting Mathematical & Magical fiction chat topics suggested by Chris.

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

Nigeria says it suspends Twitter days after president's post removed https://t.co/AqeqyVO990 https://t.co/bHUuW2bfdS

In Response to Oversight Board, Trump Suspended for Two Years; Will Only Be Reinstated if Conditions Permit https://t.co/0n1pWwv9kM

[Bernard]

"Millions of mice are rampaging across Australia, attacking people in their beds, and even burning down houses." - Daily Mail (UK)

The attacking I can believe, but the burning?

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

Sweden - The first cashless society?
Swedish society is becoming ever more cashless. It has to do with practicality, openness to change and a thriving tech scene. Is technology about to make cash a thing of the past in Sweden?
https://t.co/zzH7jm1FDH https://t.co/0gBRMRmUwi

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

A man slapped President Emmanuel Macron of France in the face on Tuesday and shouted “Down with Macronie." Two people were arrested. https://t.co/hObGIW8tyz

[Bernard]

Grasshopper wrote: "A man slapped President Emmanuel Macron of France in the face on Tuesday and shouted “Down with Macronie." Two people were arrested. https://t.co/hObGIW8tyz"

I think the man was challenging Macron to a duel, but Macron was too scared to accept.

[Chris]

@Bernard Smith
I guess it’s possible if a mouse ate through a wire and caused a power surge, but I’m no expert. It’s that or maybe candles getting knocked over. Who knows? Maybe it’s a sign of a new apocalypse.

I am curious about Sweden, ever since the Debit Card and systems like PayPal the world in general has been moving towards cashless. Cryptocurrencies and the pandemic has accelerated that trend. So I reckon it’s not at all unreasonable to imagine a path towards Roddenbury’s vision of a truly cashless society.

[Bernard]

Thanks Chris, your suggestions make sense. I had an image of a horde of mice marching along, holding burning torches aloft in their paws, intent on arson. But I suppose that is my over-active imagination at work.

Of course a mouse is not as dangerous as, say, a tiger. But I still would not want to wake up and find I was being nibbled by one.

[Ned]

Good Afternoon Everyone

I just want to say hi and share the link for my new book

https://www.writersrepublic.com/bookshop

Emotions of A Bipolar Mind by Ned Lowe

Thank you and have a great day !

[Chris]

Nothing wrong with an overactive imagination. I have the same thing. :) I really like your description. Do you write children’s books at all? I can see that being used in some sort of story for kids.

[Bernard]

An interesting idea. Not many words are needed, yet there is still the potential for making millions.

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

That's what this writer's group is all about folks!

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

The movement of the moment in China is "lying flat," which advocates for lying down instead of working hard.

Here’s more on why Chinese youth appear to be rejecting a life and work culture of constant competition. https://t.co/1FbZjVwClP

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

Women in South Korea are protesting labor disparities by using an image similar to this emoji to mock the size of men’s penises. Men are saying women are insulting their bodies.
https://t.co/w8jJa5KAUl

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

Win win situation for both if you ask me!

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

What book?

[Bernard]

I do not know! I have lost track. I think we should reboot 😁

[Bernard]

A book members may like

Balzac's Omelette: A Delicious Tour of French Food and Culture with Honoré de Balzac

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

LGBT content aimed at children to be banned in Hungary https://t.co/SHByIHWI6b

[Bernard]

I saw an interesting documentary on Julian of Norwich. Her house (in Norwich) is now a coffee shop

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_...

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

Children are taught to identify traitors. Neighbors are urged to report one another. Officials are pressed to pledge their loyalty.

One year after it imposed a national security law, China has remade Hong Kong. This is how the city’s freedom was taken. https://t.co/zyIRIFvNad

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

"China marks 100 years of the Communist Party" https://twitter.com/i/events/14104022...

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

LIVE: Thousands of women demonstrate in Istanbul as Turkey quits European rights treaty https://t.co/bdAI4yJRXs

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

Official pictures from the Ukrainian Defence Ministry showed women soldiers practising for a parade in heels https://t.co/DTxG51b4Hy

[Chris]

I quite like the idea of calling the idea a medieval mindset. It really is very outdated.
At the same time, I recently did a university assessment on Simone de Beauvoir and the Second Sex, and there is a lot of interesting ideas that I am only now just learning about that seems to confirm and explain a lot of my experiences in gender.

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

Teachers are told to imbue children with patriotism through 48-volume books called “My Home Is in China.” Libraries have removed dozens of books, including one about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. Police officers goose-step in Chinese military fashion. https://t.co/JeVSoNXBHn

[Chris]

Perhaps I’m reading too much into it, but I’m getting the very distinct impression that China is trying to pull a North Korea and deifying themselves through nationalism.

China is China and the government can do as it pleases. I have a real problem with nationalism as an ideology. I love Australia, it has an amazing duality of real intelligence and professionalism, yet blunt and sometimes quite crass experts. We know what we talk about, and poke fun at ourselves when it becomes necessary.
But I also acknowledge that Australia is not perfect. We treat our history so poorly, that it became a motivating factor in theming my book. Other aspects, such as the emerging culture of misogyny, and the idea of forgetting the existence of a people, will also appear in later stories. I think it’s important for people to critically view one’s own home, because there is no such thing as the perfect society, and as soon as a government start to portray themselves as only good, it leads to a very distorting world view that no one outside the bubble one has created will share.

[Chris]

*one has created will share.*

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Chris'

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

Influencers and advertisers are now required to label retouched photos in a bid to fight unrealistic beauty standards. https://t.co/Op3G9qQg8S

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

"Shorter working week trial in Iceland hailed as an ‘overwhelming success’" https://twitter.com/i/events/14124256...

[Bernard]

"The tedium of living under lockdown has fuelled a wave of academic research into boredom." (Daily Mail)

[Ross]

Uhm...Hi.

I'm not sure if anyone here is going to respect me enough to answer the questions I have, but here goes.

Today is part of the Goodreads' Official Sci-Fi/Fantasy Week!

1: I am a self-published Indie author. Can someone like me become notable enough to be featured by Goodreads on a page like the one I mention above?
2: Is it even possible for someone like me to become a notable author at all? If so, how does one accomplish this?
3: On this note, can any almost virtually unknown author or any self-published author become a best-selling author?

Someone please, please tell me now: Is there something I don't know about all this? (Please pardon the song-pun, okay?)

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

We are in esteemed company.
All we can say is - Keep at it Ross!
https://selfpublishingwithdale.com/in...

[Bernard]

A book by Edgar Allan Poe, which some members may not be familiar with

The Conchologist's First Book: A System of Testaceous Malacology, Arranged ...

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

What would you do if you didn’t have power for most of the day? How would you do your daily activities or your grocery run?

This is life in Lebanon these days, where a 21-month-long, government-engineered economic implosion has transformed everyday tasks.
https://t.co/jzbRpKLuvp

[Bernard]

"13 year old child ran neo-Nazi cell from gran's cottage" (Daily Mail)

Redina Hood sang a merry song as she skipped through the forest. In her wicker basket she had an apple for granny, a revolver for shooting wolves, and the stolen secret plans for a small nuclear device.

(To be continued)

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

That's awful!

[Bernard]

The headline or my story?

[Chris]

So I found a neat thing; if you saw the BBC recently you may have seen an article about a manga artist who has drawn character designs of countries for the Tokyo Olympics. This is not true, in fact the original artist is creating a proper manga with a small team. So rather than linking the news article I’ll link the website specifically, you can translate the site with the option at the top and select the US flag for English.

If anyone is interested in this please take the time to read the character designs. The artists have taken genuine consideration to characterize countries as people.

https://world-flags.org/

[Grasshopper, Administrator]

Thanks Chris. Could you post this in the sports folder please?

[Pam]

Bernard wrote: ""13 year old child ran neo-Nazi cell from gran's cottage" (Daily Mail)

Redina Hood sang a merry song as she skipped through the forest. In her wicker basket she had an apple for granny, a revolver..."
Wow sounds pretty sick!!