Categories: Argument
… random observations from my journeys through a well-lived life
Posts from the “Argument” Category
Last week, I received an email telling me that I’d made it to the first round for the 2016 Catherine Contest sponsored by the Toronto Romance Writers. Boy, did that feel good, especially since most of the comments from judges were so positive. I had a few days to clean up my entry, so I hit the keyboard, edited, added more conflict then sent it off with a much shorter synopsis. Scary, but exciting. I also entered a contest sponsored by the New Jersey Romance Writers. Two weeks ago, I sent in a story to the Canadian Authors Association Vancouver 2016 Story Contest. My creative brain is on fire. I’m on a roll, but time is passing and I have to be. In June I…
The Guardian newspaper, always thought-provoking, posted a short commercial that illustrates the impact of social media on ‘news’. They used the fable of the Three Little Pigs in a 21st century setting. Of more interest is how the focus of the story shifts as events unfold. [embedplusvideo height=”640″ width=”880″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/28RBjhD” standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/3xIgq13mX3A?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=3xIgq13mX3A&width=880&height=640&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep6526″ /] Given what’s happening with the U.S. elections and now, in Europe with Brexit, we are constantly bombarded by the views of talking heads in suits as well as instant internet experts. Some of them are so wrong it’s laughable. Based on the shocking swings we’ve seen in ‘popularity’ of American candidates, it’s the doomsayers who shade the truth and monger fear who are the most dangerous, in my view. Take…
Categories: Argument
I attended a writing workshop a few weeks ago and the speaker talked about ‘black moments’, alluding to the despair and hopeless experienced by a character. That pissed me off. Such a lazy, unimaginative descriptor. Why is ‘black’ or the concept of ‘not white’, a stand-in for bad/evil/sad/danger? There are ‘black sheep’ – outcast or undesirable. Cats and crows are seen as sneaky and/or evil creatures. The scientific term ‘black hole’ meaning bottomless or unknowable. ‘Black-hearted’ means evil and sinister. Witches, sorcerers and mad scientists all wear black. ‘Black-balled’ means excluded or targetted for exclusion. ‘Black’ also refers to hats, knights, mail – all negatives. In the 90s, when our collective consciousnesses were being raised, I recall reading an article about how word and…
Categories: Argument
I was helping my hip-hop MMA-loving grandson with his homework last week. Something about Zeus and the beginnings of Greek mythology. Ancient history (in English & Latin) was one of my favourite topics in school but, truth be told, this updated version was almost unrecognizable. Nevertheless, we slogged through the eight pages of faint photocopied text to find the answers to the quiz questions. As he began to fill in the blanks, I asked, “How come you’re printing, in pencil?” “Because, Grandma, they didn’t teach us to write cursive.” In the back of my mind, I remembered a discussion we had about this last year, but I didn’t believe it. Unfortunately, it’s true. He’s going into grade nine at the beginning of August, in…
Categories: Argument
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