Liphar Magazine Issue 1 - Liphar Magazine Issue 4

Liphar Magazine Issue 1
LitArtMagazine
Copyright 2014 Liphar Magazine
Spangaloo –Smashwords Edition
Visit is to see the Online edition as well as to make comments.
http://litartmag.com/index.php
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Copyright © 2014 by Liphar Magazine. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or otherwise without the
written permission of the publisher.
As well Stories and other articles are copyrighted by the authors.
All images are also copyrighted and used by permission
Contents:
Editorial
Credits
Articles
In My Humble Opinion
State of the Publishing Industry
10 Reasons Why a Writing Profession is on the Top Career List
The Good The Bad and the Ugly of Art
Give Me the Full Story ‒ James Lasdun ‒ My Doubts
Twitter Debacle
Interviews
Karena Marie
Murray Coleman
Tomas Castano
Short Stories
The Cure
Boyhood to Manhood
Family Blessings
Art Gallery
James Bryron Love
Carlin Blahnik
Annie Zeno
Photo Gallery
Marty Saccone
Kellie Troy
Books Worth Reading
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Editorial
At my Desk…
Welcome to the first issue of Liphar Magazine, A new and exciting on-line
magazine with a theme dedicated to Literature, Photography and Art.
We’re excited to bring a fresh voice that appeals to everyone who delights in
writing, taking photos and creating art, whether they call themselves an author, artist, or
not. Our aim is to inspire people and get them invigorated.
Key elements with Liphar Magazine will include sourcing articles about
literature, photography and art as promotion on Social Media and blogs for writing tools,
publishing, photography tips, art and current trends. There will also be regular
columnists, thought provoking articles, informative interviews and general information.
To submit an article, nominate yourself or someone else for an interview,
advertise, or submit photographs with good composition that reflect your work and
images of your art that reflect your particular style. Please contact the relevant
department at http://litartmag.com/index.php
Your support to grow the magazine to its full potential as an informative on-line
magazine will depend on you…the reader. We foresee here at Liphar Magazine an
opportunity exists for established and aspiring authors, photographers and artists to
highlight their work internationally. With our expert staff, contributors and interviews
with professional artists in their own right, novices will benefit from their experience and
insight.
PS Be sure to read, Tracy Kauffman’s article on "10 reasons why a writing
profession is on the top career list," where she states writers have the best job in the
world. This edition includes by author Taylor Fulks, an article about her latest book. And
in her own words…"My novel is very dark, disturbing and GRAPHIC. It is a
controversial book about Child Sexual Abuse." Interviews with author Karena Marie,
photographer Murray Coleman and artist Tomas Castaño. A philosophical article by
James on "Is our universe a holographic projection?"
--------------------------------
Publisher : Spangaloo & LitArtMagazine
http://litartmag.com
Editor: Deuce Wylde
Staff Writers
John Laval
James Blanchette
Theo Jansen
Alvin Johnston
Guest Columnists
Taylor Fulks
Tracy Kauffman
Therese Taylor
Contributors:
James Bryron Love
Carlin Blahnik
Annie Zeno
Marty Saccone
Kellie Troy
Fiza Pathan
Jen Selinsky
Cover Image:
From an Original Oil Painting by
James Bryron Love
In my humble opinion…
By Taylor Fulks
Readers, of all makes and models, “read what
they need.” They choose books in their local brick
and mortar stores, or load their e-readers from home,
utilizing a meticulous, voracious, and captious
appetite, while perusing the category or genre they
love most. Some are inquisitive, with an insatiable
desire for knowledge; seeking out the How-To’s and
What-For’s of Non-Fiction; while others, simply
need the distraction of Fiction, or make believe; an
escape from the mundane or toilsome life they’ve
been dealt. Whatever the reason, they read what they
need.
A little over two years ago, I sat on my back
porch ready to embark on the world of writing; hoping
to be more than just a micro-droplet in a sea of Romance
novels. I’m an OR nurse. I sew flesh back together for a
living. I had no credentials, just a desire to write. But as
I began to try and pen my intended story, I kept hearing
a small, subdued voice in my head saying, “Tell our
story, Taylor.” Don’t ask me why, but for some reason, I
listened. It took me several tries to summon the courage
to even write the first sentence, many weeks later. The
reason: My story is Taboo…
I knew from the beginning I didn’t want to write
a Memoir; though some feel and say it reads like one,
since it’s written in first person. I had never read a
Memoir, so I didn’t have a clue how to begin to write
one…or end one for that matter. I also felt that a
Memoir had to be unadulterated fact (I learned much
later on, it does not), and my story would have to be altered (names, dates, times), to
protect not only my family, but also myself. So I chose to write my story as a
fictionalized novel, based on a true story…my story.
A scandal erupted here in the States; tantamount to the fall of the Roman Empire.
I was about one third of the way through my manuscript when all hell broke loose on the
national news. A prominent University, a popular coach, and an athletic director were
ensconced in a Child Sexual Abuse scandal; spanning two decades and numerous little
boys.
Joe Paterno, the head football coach for Penn State and beloved icon, had been
informed of this heinous activity and did nothing to stop it, nor try to prevent it from
continuing. He had knowledge of the crime for years, yet turned a blind eye to it. By
turns, he was quickly fired for his part in the cover-up. He and his football team were
stripped of all their awards and titles, not only for this particular year, but for all
accolades during his tenure. The University even went so far as to remove a statue
honoring him. The University was also sanctioned and subjected to heavy, punitive fines.
Jerry Sandusky, was prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and now resides in prison, as
a convicted pedophile.
I was ecstatic! FINALLY! Someone was taking a stand on behalf of the victims.
I watched like a hawk for stories from the victims, some quite young, but the only
stories provided were grossly edited snippets of interviews that minimized the severity,
and sometimes, questioned the validity of the abuse. Then the day of reckoning came; a
day that altered my life forever. I watched a group of students, administrators, and staff
from Penn State University, stand in front of a TV camera and cry foul! One middle-age
man looked right into the camera with unflinching eyes, and said, “The punishment is too
harsh for the crime!”
I have known rage in my life; feelings of anger so toxic, it was quite frightening,
and made me feel hollow for days. But I had never amassed and embraced such a level of
insanity. I was possessed! I didn’t think. I didn’t process or calculate what I was about to
do. I just reacted.
I shredded the first eight chapters of my novel and sat down to begin again…this
time, in graphic detail. I didn’t consciously think through the consequences of telling my
story, at least the consequences to me, personally. I just wrote. Raw, blatant honesty
became my mission statement!
To my utter amazement, my novel was well received by readers, for the most part.
I’ve been blessed with 150+/5 star reviews and have been the recipient of two very
prestigious awards:
2013 INDIE READERS DISCOVERY AWARD~ 1st Place
2013 READERS FAVORITE INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARD~ Gold
Medal Winner.
Conversely, when you brooch subjects that elicit strong emotion; when you
invade the comfort level of the reader, you often stir emotions you are not seeking…as
was my case. I found myself embroiled in the midst of a defamation/slander campaign,
and on the verge of having my book banned for content. The angst stemmed from my
book being perceived as a Memoir, when in fact, it is a Novel based on a true story, and
says as much on my cover page. This occurred right around the time that KOBO removed
numerous books from its site for questionable content. Which begs the question: Aren’t
we all just one review away from having our books banned?
Writing ‘your truth’ has a very high price, regardless of genre; Fiction, NonFiction, or Memoir. Where does it say you can’t blend genres, as long as you are honest
about doing so? In truth, Memoir or no, if you change any aspect of the “biography or
biographical sketch” (names, dates, times, order of events), aren’t you in fact,
fictionalizing your work?
By the same token, if your fictional characters are based upon people you know,
or interact with, or if you write a fictional scene about a particular incident that you’ve
actually experienced, does the fact that you are writing fiction mean what you wrote, or
your experience for that matter, didn’t happen?
Either way, you lay yourself bare, offering yourself upon the ‘alter of public
opinion,’ as a sacrificial lamb in an unforgiving, and sometimes harsh world.
We all like neat and tidy; the girl gets the guy, this gizmo or gadget will do that, if
you do this, and the ever-popular, Happily-Ever-After. MY PRISON WITHOUT BARS
is none of those things, unfortunately. My book is the raw, unfiltered truth about child
sexual abuse.
It’s a sad truth. That which we fear; that which we don’t understand, we shun.
Child Sexual Abuse, as well as other taboo subjects in the literary world, is shameful in
the minds of most people in our society. It’s something very hard to wrap your mind
around.
The mind, for all its mysterious workings, is a compensatory organ; a flesh and
blood computer if you will, allowing a plethora of knowledge and feelings to flow
through its pathways…yet, it’s always filtering and camouflaging, buffering and
blocking, and finally shutting off completely when it’s unable to handle, or compute. In
other words, it makes sure the soul can handle the download of images (real or
perceived), and incoming information.
Therein lays the problem with Child Sexual Abuse. We hear those three words
and our minds will only allow us to imagine so far, before we filter, buffer, block, or
completely shut off things too unpleasant to handle.
My mission became clear…I had to take the reader to that dark, dismal, shameful
place no one ever talks about, and with my written words…make them feel.
One year after publication of my taboo novel, I am forever, changed. I have
received over five hundred emails and private messages from readers; other victims
struggling to find “normal.” My power word has become, WARRIOR. I hate the words
victim and survivor, when speaking or reading about child sexual abuse.
No one’s hell is any worse than someone else’s…Yet while we are there, we
endure it alone! Those who have endured their own demons, fought and clawed their way
out of hell, actively searching for the light…WE ARE WARRIORS!
I have seen the worst of humanity not only in my past, but quite recently. I've also
seen the best humanity has to offer. The latter far outweighs the former. In writing my
truth, my way, I’ve found something I never expected…Acceptance. Not so much from
others, though it is offered quite freely, but acceptance from me. I cannot change events
from the past, but I can remember, “I don’t live there, anymore.”
Whether you are an author or an unpublished writer, self-published INDIE, or a
traditionally published artist; you bleed from your soul on paper, putting yourself out
there, time and time again. You expose your thoughts, ideas, and dreams; “your truths” to
the world to be judged, fairly or harshly, it doesn't matter. You are still being judged by
the public, and theirs is the last word. Miraculously, you do it again and again, regardless
of what others say, because it is who and what you are. You were born to tell your truth.
You were born to write.
The little girl inside my head is quiet now. For better or worse, she found her
voice and had her say. The little girl inside my book, inside of me, is fine. I protect her
now.
MY PRISON WITHOUT BARS
viewBook.at/MyPrisonWithoutBarsTheJourneyofaDamagedWomant
TAYLOR EVAN FULKS viewAuthor.at/TaylorEvanFulks
Website
www.taylorfulks.com
Facebook
www.facebook.com/taylorevanfulks
Twitter
twitter.com/TaylorTfulks20
Goodreads
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16109612-my-prison-without-bars
Karena Marie
Ink from the Heart on Authors
with Deuce Wylde
Featuring
Erotica Author - Karena Marie
"I would write comedy, but since I do not think I am funny, I chose Erotica."
I am in my 40s, born and raised in
Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I am an English
Montrealer, but I speak French as a second
language. Have been riding a Harley since I was
twenty and have had the same bike for 25 years.
I love traveling and I have been fortunate to visit
a lot of eastern Canada, the eastern and south
U.S. as well as several countries and cities in
Europe. I have always written short stories,
poetry, and always planned to write a novel.
I have the pleasure of hosting erotica author, Karena Marie. She’s written three
books, numerous short stories and is also a published poet. Karena shares candidly in an
interview about the ups and downs of her writing career.
Hi Karena thanks for taking the time to answer some questions
Liphar: Can you give us a little about your background?
KM: I am in my 40s, born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I am an
English Montrealer, but I speak French as a second language. I have been riding a Harley
since I was twenty and have had the same bike for 25 years. I love travelling and I have
been fortunate to visit a lot of eastern Canada, the eastern and southern U.S, as well as
several countries and cities in Europe. I have always written short stories, poetry and
always hoped to write a novel. With eBooks and the many platforms now available for
authors to self-publish, I am thrilled that it possible for anyone to do so! There are so
many great 'Indie Authors' publishing, that I rarely read anything else.
Liphar: How did you get started writing and reading erotica?
KM: Perhaps due to living in Montreal, a very liberal city, erotica is a genre I
have been reading since my early 20s. I was in an upscale bookshop downtown and found
a few anthologies of Women's Erotica. I love writing something that readers find fun and
entertaining. I like the fact that it is 'light' to read, not dark and gloomy. I would like to
write comedy, but since I do not think I am funny, I will stick to Erotica. I have
discussed, swapped books, received and given erotica as gifts with my friends ever since.
My mother read erotica and if she were still alive, I think she would have enjoyed what I
have written. I really love writing Erotica and do not have any problems telling anyone
what I write.
Liphar: When were you first published and what are you working on at the
minute?
KM: I self-published my first erotica story, The Happy Spinster, on Feb 2 2013. I
followed it up with The Barmaid, in July 2013 and the third book in The Happy Spinster
Series, The Date, has just been released. There are two more books in this series and they
will be published in the next few months. I have just started writing Montreal Escort, a
series about the personal and professional lives of five very different women, which will
have eight to ten volumes. I am happy to say that my first two books, in my opinion, are
selling very well! I think I realised how much I loved writing when I completely forgot I
could be earning money from writing when I received my first royalty payment. I was
surprised, as I had forgotten that people might actually pay to read what I have written.
Liphar: Do you have a favorite character in your books?
KM: I really love creating my characters and 'getting to know them'. I find I
become quite attached to certain characters and I become a bit sad when I have
completed a book or series about one of them, and they are 'retired'. I really like Tawny,
aka, The Happy Spinster. With Montreal Escort, another series, I have learned that it is
best to write and complete all of the volumes before I release the first. I know that in say
Volume 5, I will have to go back to an earlier volume and change something I have
already written, to reflect a change I have made to the character, or their circumstances.
Liphar: What is the nicest thing a reviewer has ever said about one of your
books?
KM: One of my favourite reviews contains the words "Not just a thin story line,
merely to support the erotica." I do not just write about sex, for the sake of writing it, but
I have stories with plots and I have been told from several readers, that once they start
reading they are glued to the pages to see what will happen. I think this is one of the best
compliments an author can receive!
Liphar: Do you find a stigma attached to publishing erotica and if so, does it
bother you?
KM: Some people do not take erotica or authors of erotica seriously. I always
question this. Because I write about sex in more detail instead of the suggestion of it, or
use flowery words to describe making love, some do not consider what I write to be
serious writing. I once had someone on Twitter ask me if I 'act out the sex scenes in real
life, then write about them?' I replied if they thought authors that write crime novels or
thrillers 'act out murdering someone then write about it'? Also, I am often told that my
writing is adult only and a few authors do not even wish to re-tweet me on Twitter.
Of course, erotica is for adults only, but so are many books I read that do not
contain any sex, but are filled with violence. (Could be a Canadian view?) The same
authors that state they do not wish their young readers see them merely tweet an author of
erotica, do not seem to have a problem with tweeting authors who write books with a
LOT of graphic violence.
I wrote a post on my blog, thehappyspinster.com titled, If Gang Bangers Read
Erotica... I was contacted by a few authors that had told me they never thought about the
violence they wrote about as being adult only, unsuitable for younger audiences, as
erotica is appropriately classified. I have been asked if I was planning to write in other
genres. I was even once told that I am wasting my skills writing erotica, again, indicating
that erotica authors are not to be taken seriously.
I respect that other people are entitled to their opinions and do not wish to try to
change them. Luckily, most authors support other authors, regardless of the content of
their work. I love the community of authors and how we always help each other out any
way we can. I have formed quite a few friendships with authors of every genre. I was
initially surprised at first how some viewed erotica and was not expecting it. However,
quite a few readers contact me with compliments, input and suggestions about my book
and if people who enjoy this genre like reading my work, that is what matters the most.
Since I receive more positive input than negative, it no longer bothers me. As I said,
people are entitled to their opinions.
Liphar: Is there a difference between erotica and porn?
KM: Many people do not understand the difference between erotica and
pornography and think that anything written involving explicit sex is demeaning to
women. How could any self-respecting woman write about sex?
All one has to do is 'Google' Gloria Steinem, erotica vs. pornography. It is evident
that she has stated many times that there should be more erotica written for and by
women (I saw a quote from her stating this back in the 70s). A great thing about most
women's erotica is that the woman is the one 'in control' and calling the shots. My
characters are women, who are strong, independent, successful and enjoy sex!
Thank you Karena Marie for your time.
Books by Karena Marie
--------------------------------------------------------------------Find more about here at
http://www.thehappyspinster.com
State of the Publishing Industry
by John Loval
Seems we have a war being fought on all fronts! Let’s back up a little bit. The
publishing industry has been around for a very long time. When electronic books started
to appear, they ignored it. Now they’re scrambling to play catch-up.
The problem stems from something very simple; unwillingness to take any
chances. Author contracts are hard to come by and usually unless you’re famous, not in
your best interest.
Reality in the publishing industry is tougher to look at. Let’s look at the best-case
scenario. You sent your manuscript off and a publisher is interested in it. When you send
your manuscript, it does not go directly to the publisher. Where it actually goes is to
people contracted to looking over manuscripts and deciding if they have any merit. When
we say that a publisher is interested in it, that means it has passed many hurdles.
What happens next is probably going to be a series of reviews and changes to the
original manuscript to satisfy the editors. Once you finally have everything in place, it
can still be up to two years before your book actually is published.
After that, it is sent out to the various brick-and-mortar shops, to see if it will sell.
Here’s a hard reality. Your book has about two weeks to make or break it. At the end of
the two weeks, if the book has not done well, the remaining books are shipped back to the
publisher.
Now because you have a contract, the printing rights belong to the publisher and
you are not allowed to send it to somebody else. That means you’re potential great book,
has no audience and never will.
That was best-case scenario, because it goes downhill from there. You may have
sent your manuscript off to 50 different publishers and received 50 rejection letters. In
those rejection letters, rarely, is a reason given for the rejection.
Indie publishing…a radical difference!
It is possible to write a book, short story, or other type of article and have it
published within hours of completion.
There are many avenues for just such a thing. Smashwords to date, have over
300,000 titles. Kindle, Amazon, not to be outdone, have many more times that volume.
Most of the brick-and-mortar shops, like Barnes & Noble, Kobo, WM Smith and
others, have embraced the e-book industry. They are selling quite a quantity of e-books
and a vast majority of those e-books is coming from the Indie publishers.
In the publishing industry itself, many famous and/or would be famous authors,
whom have been successfully published, hate Indie publishing with a passion. Some of
their comments include that Indie publishers are bad writers. They haven’t paid their
dues. Indie writers are being disrespectful because self publishing is taking shortcuts.
There are many more damaging statements being made. Let’s look at why.
Publishers have always had a stranglehold on publishing. They decide who the
famous author is going to be, what we are going to read and how much you are going to
pay for the privilege. They do not take any chances in the publishing industry. They have
a formula that works for them. They want all of the money with none of the risks.
They’ve also noticed now the Indie writers are starting to cut into their profits. Could it
be the reason why authors that are published don’t like Indie writers?
One of the biggest complaints being made is poor quality writing. According to
them, all Indie writers are horrible writers.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. What the truth really is, is that yes,
because you can self publish, there is no guarantee that what you’re writing is of good
quality. Some Indie writers assume that their writing skills are fantastic, when in fact they
are not.
During the course of a year, I read an average of hundred and fifty books. Most of
these books, I read as e-books. Some are absolutely horrible: the plot, the story, the
writing style…absolute trash!
You may have noticed that I didn’t say Indie books. I said in the books that I read;
some are absolute trash. This includes professionally published, as well as Indie books.
For the professionally published books, I’m not sure how they made it across the
desk in the first place, but there they are, in the blinding light of day. Multiple typos, bad
plot, poor writing, in essence: everything that the publish authors tell us about Indie
books.
Not all professional authors and taken his hard-line stance. Very few indie authors
have taken the stance.
Here’s a quick story from the publishing world, Mark Coker is the owner of
Smashwords, which allows Indie publishers to publish free, as well as give them a
distribution network that is massive. All of this at no cost to the author. Smashwords
takes a minor amount of revenue off the top.
That is what Smashwords does now, however, its inception is what the story is
about. Mark had a book that he tried to have published. Already a published author
through regular publishing, it seems that even though he had previous success, the
publishing industry was unwilling to take a chance on his latest novel. He was told to
seek private publishing and distributed himself.
Smashwords was born. Mark took the idea to the extreme and decided that all
authors had the right to publish.
Regular publishing houses now have pushed forward with the e-book concept.
They are not against e-books and all. What they are against, are individual authors, not
using their services even though, they were never going to publish those authors.
The real barometer of the industry is not what authors think, nor what publishers
think, is what the public thinks. The public buys the books.
I’ve mentioned that I have read many books in the course of year. Some are okay,
some are bad, but a few, just a few, were fantastic. I look for more from this particular
author. I didn’t care, if he was self-published, or through a regular publishing house.
Isn’t that what it is really all about? Being entertained and enthralled, on the edge
of your seat reading a book. We pay the price to read something worth reading.
The publishing house and publish authors can throw stones all they want. Doesn’t
really do them any good. Publishing houses are not losing control, they have lost control
of the publishing industry and no matter what they say, or however negative they are
about Indie publishers, it won’t change anything.
What does this mean for you the reader? Well it means everything. You now have
millions of choices in your reading material and not just stuff you been told to read. Not
things that the publishers have insisted are better than anything else. The reader makes
the choices. The reader pays the bills.
The money pickings in publishing whether it’s Indie publishing, or published by a
book publisher; for the author, are slim. In the publishing industry, very few authors are
superstars. Most, if they’re lucky, make a living.
I’ve always been encouraged by Ray Bradbury. His outlook is probably the best
I’ve ever seen when it comes to writing. He simply writes. Then he writes even more.
Then he starts up again and writes more. He reads almost anything he gets his hands on,
not necessarily for even the stories it may contain, but for this sheer thrill of learning.
Your first job as a writer is to write. If you don’t have any enjoyment in writing, it
will show and therefore produce poor quality every single time. You have to write for
yourself and then share with the rest of the world.
The state of the industry is simple; it is ever evolving and that’s not going to
change. There’s no way to hold back and no way to influence its direction. It will keep on
flowing, making inroads everywhere. As long as you have people reading, the publishing
industry will exist. Whether that is self-publishing, or regular publishing houses, they
only exist because of we the readers.
There’s been a dramatic shift to electronic publication and everyone is finally
starting to notice. You can read a book on your phone, your tablet, or your computer. You
can access books from anywhere. This is a positive change the future.
The Good the Bad and the Ugly of Art
by Theo Jansen
Art, in all forms, shapes and sizes has a history.
From the very beginning, ancient man decorated cave walls to illustrate aspects of
their lives. From simple handprints to depictions of animals all are encompassed on the
cave walls. That’s the beginning, the surge to create.
In the millennia to follow, art has improved and changed to fit the times. The
general population is what art is aimed at. In modern times, if you listen to the art
galleries and critics, they for the select, few decide what art is good, what art is bad and
essentially, what you should buy.
Art is not about the sales tag, it’s about creation. It’s about ideas portrayed in
many forms, from the simplest scribble to the most complex visuals imaginable. It is not
aimed at who can afford the art, it is aimed at you.
Interpretation of art is the key. Only your interpretation is valid notwithstanding
what the salesman wants to sell you. If you don’t like a painting, why would you hang it
on your wall? It has to reach out and touch you in some way, stimulate you and bring you
happiness or sadness, or any emotion in between.
A parent will gladly display an artistic representation created by their child for all
their friends to see. Is the crayon drawing any good? Does it matter? Those questions are
easily answered, because it is the interpretation that is important and not the technique. A
child sees things differently than you or I. Their imagination is in full swing and it strives
to create. Will they ever go up to be a successful artist? That remains to be seen, but in no
way invalidates their creations.
Interpretation of the arts is the prime importance to understanding it and judging it
for yourself. There is no good art, there is no bad art, there is simply you viewing it and
deciding whether or not it says something to you.
The business of art, is an entirely different concept. The price tag, recognition
become the most relevant to the business of art. It still doesn’t make it are good or bad,
merely saleable.
Artists are notoriously a strange eccentric breed. Most seem to be fully tuned to
the right side of the brain, the creative side and as a result, there is no real balance
between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. This allows them to interpret shapes
colors and other aspects of a mundane life differently than most people.
Therein lies the problem, this brings out the ugly side art. Most artists seek
recognition for their work. That recognition can take many forms. It could simply be an
exchange of money, or a kind comment and/or anything in between. Most lack the
business savvy to accurately promote their own work and seek the help of others to do
that.
Thus is born the vanity gallery. They seek to separate an artist from their meager
income with suggestions of sales and marketing in their gallery. They typically charge
rates anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars for the privilege of
displaying your art in their gallery. They will lie and cheat them. Often times, the artist,
bear full responsibility for the transport of the art to them from their gallery.
When you do a little research on some of these galleries you may in fact even find
that they do have a location in the real world, however you will find that they produce
very few sales, if any at all and most have unrealistic opening hours thus curtailing sales
in any form. Their main goal is simply the separate you from your cash while suggesting
your dreams may become true.
That is truly the ugly side art. Some might even suggest that it is the artist’s fault
that they been trapped and misled. The sad fact remains, that artists create and their
endeavors are along those lines. They lack the business sense that most people have and
maintain a childlike trust of their fellow man.
There are millions of artists, worldwide and quite a few are very good. The only
thing that truly sets them apart from the rest is simply marketing. Without the skills to
successfully market their own work, it is rarely ever seen.
There are various avenues for artists out there and none of them are as good as
they seem. You have giant sites like FineArt America and Red Bubble to name just a few.
Both sites contain the same issues and problems. The mass amount of art
available for the buyer to choose from, making sure that you do not stand out as an artist.
On FineArt America to provide you with their own mini site, they charge a fee.
Most artists assume that paying a small fee, means that they will be successful. Nothing
could be farther from the truth, because it is still up to the artist to promote. They may
glean an occasional sale through people searching the site but this is a rarity and not a
norm. FineArt America does not provide these facts. They do not say that you’re unlikely
to make sales; instead, they suggest heavily that you will. That doesn’t make it any
different for vanity gallery within the exception of the lower fees.
Make no mistake about it; this particular company is there to make a profit. They
sell images to the public and that is their main business. The artist themselves are more
often ignored than anything else.
Red Bubble seems to be a little bit better, meaning that they don’t charge any fees
for your own individual site but the rule still apply. The artist is responsible for
marketing, bringing people to the site the buy their work.
These two particular sites are probably the most successful out there. There are
hundreds more with varying levels of success. Most charge exorbitant fees in one way or
the other to allow the simple artist to possibly make a few dollars.
There are no easy solutions to the ugly side of art, but there are some. The general
public that actually buys the art, they need to do their homework and their own research
when looking to purchase art.
You don’t have to be an art critic to appreciate art. The rule is simple; would you
hang that on your wall, proudly displayed in your home? It is really is as simple as that. If
a piece of art appeals to you in any way and is within your pricing means, then perhaps
you should purchase it.
It’s time to start listening to yourself and not listening to the art critics, which in
most cases have an agenda and that agenda is not your best interests. Everyone has the
right to look at art as is been created since the very beginning, it’s meant to be looked at.
Art is meant to solicit an emotion. Not all art will do that for you, but some will. Some
pieces of art will just reach out and grab you.
The next step is up to you, even if you can’t afford that particular piece of art, tell
your friends, chat about it. Let everyone you know what you think about a particular
artist and/or their work. Even if you can’t afford the art, you can support the artist in this
way.
The good part of art is that it’s created and available to view.
The bad part of art is that not enough people get to see it.
The ugly side of art is the unethical marketers taken advantage of not only the
artist but also of you. Very few critics are good artists. Very few gallery owners are
artists.
The world is yours to view in its entirety and includes all forms of art. You don’t
have to understand art, the techniques to create it, all it has to do is reach out and touch
you in some way. If it does that, art has succeeded
http://amazon.com/dp/B00DUVZ3GW
The Cure
By James Bryron Love
Gerald looked up from the paperwork on his wide desk. Clark was approaching
rapidly and it did not look like good news. "A few more weeks until I retire, why can’t
everything wait until then," he thought in a sour mood.
Clark was dressed in his best ceremonial uniform. His briefcase was heavy with
all the paperwork he wanted to go over. Wordlessly, he sat down in the chair across from
Gerald. He proceeded to open his briefcase and extract folder after folder. He placed each
in an orderly line in front of him on the desk.
"General, we have some major issues to discuss; none will be pleasant. There is
no-good news in these folders. I will give you a brief presentation; this is for your ears
alone. The government has decided to leave the population uninformed. You will tell no
one, including your wife, the information I'm going to give you.
As you know, our scientists have determined the age of the universe is
approximately 14 billion years old. Our particular civilization has been thriving since the
beginning, or close to the start.
They first discovered the rogue civilization about 1 billion years ago. At the time,
they were small in numbers, and it was decided that they did not present any real threat.
We were very, very wrong. As you know, they have taken over vast areas of the universe.
They have the ability to enslave entire galaxies. They do not kill the inhabitants of the
worlds they conquer. They mutate them in such a way that they become a willing slave to
them.
This is how they've amassed the numbers that they now have and are spreading
rapidly. We are losing that war. That in itself is not news to you. No matter what we have
done, they have managed to beat us at every turn.
That however, is not the news that I'm about to give you. Most of this, you have
not been unfortunate enough to have heard before.
There have been some strange occurrences over the last billion years. We've seen
entire galaxies die. An unknown force has destroyed them. In all likelihood, we would've
accepted them as an ally, had it had only affected our enemy. That is not been the case.
We know of at least 1000 galaxies that were not infected by the enemy to cease.
Our scientists have no explanation of why this has happened. They can only tell
us that the particular event has stopped.
Once again, some of this you may have guessed at or heard. This is also not the
problem I'm here to see you about. It is far worse. The galaxies that have been decimated
were at least still there.
I don't know if you've looked up into this the skies lately at night. If you had, you
may have noticed that there are fewer stars. There are fewer galaxies. They seem to be
blinking out of existence. There is nothing that we can do to stop this. It is estimated that
within my lifetime, seventy-five percent of the universe will be gone.
This is not a giant black hole swallowing everything up. The stars within the
galaxies are disappearing. All the information is included in the folders I'm going to leave
on your desk. Bear this in mind; the government will start informing all the known
worlds soon.”
Clark closed his empty briefcase and stood up. "For what it is worth, this will not
happen in your lifetime general. You will still have some time with your family."
Gerald let out a huge sigh. It was what he'd expected, there is nothing left to do
but wait. The fact that the death of the universe came after his demise did not make him
feel any better.
*
Sunlight reflected from the stainless steel of the hospital room. The bars of the
bed created shadows on Thomas’ thin face. The skin was pulled tightly over the bone and
his complexion was ashen. A few strands of white hair were all that was left on his head.
His eyes were sunken in dark circles, eyes he hadn't opened in days. The room smelled of
despair.
His mother sat weeping in a small chair near the bed. All hope had been drained
from her. The doctors no longer even feigned optimism. They had requested her presence
here because these were Thomas’ last hours. She begged and pleaded for something else
to be tried. She wasted many hours praying to God, but to no avail.
"He’s not even fourteen yet. His birthday is still months off. I don't know what
we've done to deserve this: for him to deserve this. He's such a good boy, helpful and
understanding. Everyone loves him so," she thought to herself with anguish.
The months were particularly brutal for her. Her husband died only last week.
Thomas' cancer had set in rapidly. He already had multiple surgeries, chemotherapy and
radiation. They also tried other nontraditional treatments. Everything had just made him
worse.
She sat beside him not knowing who was being comforted, him or her. The bells
and warning sounds left her empty. She knew her son was gone.
Give Me the Full Story ‒ James Lasdun ‒
My Doubts a Review
by Therese Taylor
Give Me Everything You Have, by James Lasdun, was published in 2013 and
has been a lively success. James Lasdun is an expatriate in the US from a distinguished
Anglo-Jewish family, as a novelist and a poet he has been of good repute but little fame.
Now, he is a celebrity memoirist. He transformed an unpleasant experience ‒ of being
stalked and harassed by an Iranian woman who was his former student ‒ by relating it in
a literary and emotional memoir. This book has been rapturously received by critics and
given the type of extensive coverage which creates a successful buzz around a
publication.
Give Me Everything You Have is deserving of a thorough fact check, and a
skeptical appraisal. This is a tale of a passionate relationship gone wrong, told through
anonymity and without any external references. Stories like that always needed a
counterbalancing view. It is also a highly political text, which draws upon a cultural
landscape of stereotypes about the Middle East, while presenting itself as innocent
unfiltered observation.
Cyber-terrorism and Stalking
The character Nasreen, as described in James Lasdun's memoir, is not easy to
discern. She drives the story through her malice and destructive energy, and James
Lasdun quotes her correspondence at length. However, he gives no information about her
identity, and 'Nasreen' is a pseudonym. He sketches out her career with only a few
references to a job at a magazine. We learnt that she left New York, where he was living,
and went to California, but no explanation is given for this. The memoir also states that
she visited Australia, with no further explanation. James Lasdun describes Nasreen's
appearance, but not her financial means, her other relationships, or her health. As these
are the factors which construct the possibilities of life, she is quite a shadowy figure.
The memoir reduces 'Nasreen' to a cipher, because the only things we learn about
her are those which impact upon her relationship with James Lasdun. She was a former
student from a New York university where he lectured in a creative writing class. Around
2005 he introduced her to his agent and his editor ‒ he mentions this in passing but it is in
fact an unusual favor. She shows a romantic attachment to him, which he rebuffed.
During 2007, their relationship soured, she pursues him with hostile emails, which
escalate to full-on harassment. Abuse, threats and anti-Semitic rants are constantly
emailed to him. She also harasses his editor and agent, and she impersonates him by
sending contrived and offensive messages using his email address as a false header. She
also vandalized his Wikipedia page, which needed numerous edits, and wrote hostile
reviews of his work on public forums.
This memoir of an author's bitter relationship with a would-be author is naturally
centred around the topic of writing. James Lasdun attributes a most malign power to
Nasreen ‒ she stopped him from writing. The stress of dealing with her made it very
difficult even to read.
The further her occupation of my mind extended, the harder it was to
concentrate on anything else. Reading became problematic. Books that required any
active effort of engagement were out of the question. At the same time, books that
required only passive submission to a well-oiled mechanism of suspense became
ddictive. Mysteries, crime novels, psychological thrillers were all I read that year.
(Lasdun, p. 146). [emphasis mine]
However, this account of his misfortunes is contradicted by other sources. If one
consults media databases for the year 2008, which is apparently when his reading
activities were almost snuffed out by Nasreen, one finds that he was a book reviewer for
The Guardian. In fact, he was constantly reading weighty literary works, and also some
non-fiction, and writing lengthy reviews. It is amazing that someone who had such a
profile as a book reviewer could later claim to have been unable to read much.
The idea that James Lasdun was reduced to creative famine by Nasreen is very
central to the message of his memoir, and has been reiterated in interviews. As Naomi
Zeveloff of Forward Magazine was told:
Meanwhile, Lasdun's creative output diminished. Between 2007 and 2010, he
and Davis wrote a travel guide together, and he published a single book of stories, "It's
Beginning To Hurt," made up mostly of previously written material. "He couldn't
move forward. He was blocked," was how his agent of 27 years described his condition
in an interview.
When making a plea that he had been 'blocked' by Nasreen's stalking, and had
published only a travel book between 2007 and 2010 both James Lasdun and his agent
seem to be forgetting that he had returned to verse, and published a volume of poetry,
Water Sessions, which appeared in 2012 and achieved notable recognition. In addition to
the poetry, there were substantial works of short fiction, such as 'The Hollow' published
in Paris Review in 2009, and also, a number of non-fiction essays. He also wrote a screen
play based on his novel, Seven Lies, for an independent producer.
The question of whether or not Nasreen really did stop James Lasdun from
writing is quite important, because it is the only real damage she is said to have achieved.
In this sense, Give Me Everything is an unusual memoir about stalking, and might lead
readers to underestimate the effects of such crimes. As one reads James Lasdun's memoir,
one keeps expecting to find a gruesome account of money lost, employment terminated,
or unjust public disparagement. Nothing actually happens, which may be why the author
constantly diverts into discussions about literature and ways that his situation is mirrored
in texts like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
In the memoir, James Lasdun describes two journeys ‒ one to the west coast of
the USA, and one to Jerusalem, where he wrestled alone with the dilemma of how to
cope with Nasreen's animosity. Concerning the journey to Jerusalem, he notes that he was
invited to write an article and: 'This kind of invitation comes my way only rarely ...'
(Lasdun, p. 167) Most readers of the memoir would not be aware that during the course
of these events he was invited to participate in Florida Writers Festival in Nov 2011, and
to the Edinburgh Book Festival in 2009. He also was engaged in the hugely disruptive
life change of moving his existing house to a new location. James Lasdun describes this
in a 2010 article for the Times Literary Supplement, and states that his family were
obliged to live in hotels and transient locations until the house was finally refurbished in
a different location on their rural property. None of this is mentioned in the memoir,
which is therefore giving a very partial, very edited down version of his life during these
years.
What of his claim to have been reading crime fiction and thrillers because of a
need for escapism amid Nasreen's campaign of hatred? She inflicted a fear so intense
that: 'sometimes at night if I heard a sound I would lie half awake for long stretches,
wishing I owned a gun.' (Lasdun, 135-36) He actually describes the crime novels, which
are a genre of fiction filled with deadly violence, as being not a diversion from, but a
reflection of, his situation: 'Often in these suspense novels I would find echoes of my
own predicament ... sometimes entire plotlines. (Lasdun, 147)
Yet, if we look back at his publications during this time, we find that James
Lasdun's interest in crime fiction is seen in an entirely different light. His essay, 'Police
procedurals,' published in the London Review of Books, 8 September 2011, has a breezy
and confident tone:
I've often fantasised about writing a police procedural series. Sometimes the
fantasy gets to the point where I start sketching out ideas, but invariably I come up
against the double problem of my ignorance of how the police actually proceed and my
private veto against fiction requiring serious research. So I stop. But something made
me try again, and a few months ago I came home from my local Barnes and Noble
with a stack of books ...
He then attended a series of public seminars on police work. James Lasdun
describes himself sitting among retirees and undergraduates, 'and a couple of quiet men
my own age whom I suspect of being rival aspiring crime novelists.' The article then
gives an entertaining description of learning how to fire a pistol, and taking part in video
simulations of deadly clashes involved in police work. 'By the time it was over I was so
pumped up and buzzing I could hardly bear to hand over my gun, my Glock 23, to the
next student.'
If one were to rely upon this article as a sole source of information, one would
suppose that in 2009-10 James Lasdun was a cheerful, dynamic writer with no unsatisfied
longing for a weapon, and who had learnt to use a firearm in order to sharpen up his
research into potential topics in crime fiction. If in turn one looks at the memoir's account
of that same era, he says nothing at all about any interest in writing a police procedural,
and portrays himself as alone and terrorized, futilely wishing that he had a gun during the
dark watches of the night.
Where does the gun fit into the overall story? It has no obvious place, because
despite all of Nasreen's threats, she never physically approached him, and had moved
away to a location on the other side of the United States. A firearm is not much use
against emails. The story of wishing for a gun is emblematic, rather, of James Lasdun's
ability to draw very different stories out of one theme.
Correspondence
One of Nasreen's most improbable allegations about James Lasdun was that he
was exploiting her by planning to use her, and her writings and emails, as material for his
own publications. This is a paranoid idea, so peculiar that it apparently brought about its
own fulfillment.
In Give Me Everything, James Lasdun reproduces a letter she sent to a college
which had employed him as a writer in residence:
James Lasdun is probably hard at work writing yet another sadistic tale about
me, just like his previous awful, crass poem Bittersweet, knowing that I had dwindled
down to 98 pounds after he and his evil witches (Kurwen and banker Schwartz)
deceived and stole from me ‒ and after I'd been raped by a colleague at a magazine ...
And now you are funding him to exploit me yet again because in my state of trauma
and naive trust in him I told him many things, and this is precisely his plan, as he's
told me in the last email he sent. (Lasdun 116-117)
Ultimately, the publication of Give Me Everything both enacts and denounces this
allegation. James Lasdun states that he consulted legal opinions before working on the
memoir, and that they warned him of the malice of his adversary: 'Might I be making
things worse for myself? "She'll do everything she can to discredit you," the lawyer
warned. But hadn't she already?' (Lasdun, 165)
This mention of lawyers is the only point in the memoir where James Lasdun
even approaches a discussion of the ethical and legal implications of his book. But surely
any lawyer whom he consulted about this memoir project would start talking to him
about copyright infringement, rather than attempts to discredit him.
It is astonishing that no review of Give Me Everything has mentioned this,
although the restrictions of copyright law are often discussed in the media. It is rare to
find a story in publication where the very structure and content of the text calls into
question the veracity of its claims. But that is what we are looking at here. The memoir
could not have been published in its present form, unless Nasreen signed a release,
allowing James Lasdun the right to publish her correspondence. If she did so, then the
relationship between them is very different from what we have been told. If she did not
do so, then no reputable publisher would even consider the manuscript. There would be
particular concerns about the 'letter from Nasreen', printed on pages 115 to 117 of Give
Me Everything, because this is a document published in its entirety.
Whilst considering legal issues, there is the other obvious question of why
Nasreen has never been charged before the courts for her crimes against James Lasdun.
Some of the actions described in both the memoir and in interviews, could give rise to
criminal charges, and a civil suit for harassment would be easily justifiable. However, as
James Lasdun told Forward Magazine on 25 Feb 2013, no charges have been laid against
Nasreen because his editor and agent are too afraid that her presence in New York, during
legal proceedings would be dangerous to them. Yet this information is contradictory. If
Nasreen is a person too dangerous to prosecute ‒ like a Columbian drug lord ‒ then why
is it safe to publish a memoir about her?
Around the year 2011, Nasreen began a campaign of vicious phone calls. As
James Lasdun told The Telegraph on 13 Feb 2013:
I had the machine on silent but I had to listen to some of it to record it for the
police ... Her voice is terrifying, nothing like the voice I remember. And hearing
threats against you and your children, and explosions of hate, is incredibly disturbing.
One of the oddities of James Lasdun's accounts of the calls, is that he says in the
above interview: '... Her voice is ... nothing like the voice I remember.' Likewise, in the
memoir, he reports that she began making numerous threatening phone calls, in 'all in a
bizarre, unrecognizable, sing-song voice,' (Lasdun, 211).
Reviews and Slanders
James Lasdun's memoir describes a series of hostile internet postings about his
works, and demonstrates the greatest distress that Nasreen has damaged his public self so
viciously. In particular, he credits her with being the author of a negative post on
Goodreads, which describes his short story 'The Seige', as racist.
Here I was, a standard-issue liberal with unimpeachably correct views on
everything, casting the shadow of some leering, reactionary bigot. Unlike Amazon,
Goodreads doesn't have a 'report' option for malicious postings, so there it still sits
today, a little inexhaustible font of poison spreading its plumes into the hitherto clear
waters of my virtual self. (Lasdun, 111-112)
Although one might sympathise about receiving a hostile review, or an unfair
review, or both, it should be noted that James Lasdun has no right to be so surprised by
this. The topic of his story 'The Seige' involves a sexual attraction between an African
woman who works as a servant and a privileged European man who is her employer. This
is a controversial topic. In the case of 'The Seige', there were informal comments by some
readers indicating aversion, and once the story appeared as a film Beseiged, directed by
Bernardo Bertolucci, firebrand critic Roger Ebert was severely critical. In June 1999 he
wrote: 'In a hasty moment I described the film as "racist," but it is not that so much as
thoughtless ... in "Besieged" we have troublesome buried issues.' Roger Ebert directs his
scathing criticism at the screenplay. He asks: 'How can a director of such sophistication,
in a film of such stylistic grace, tell such a shallow and evasive story?'
This review was published in syndicated media, and then again republished in a
book by Roger Ebert where he assembles his most hostile reviews - I Hated, Hated,
Hated This Movie. It seems that the clear waters of Lasdun's virtual self had already been
touched with poison, long since. His complaint about the Goodreads forum might be
evidence of his own obsession about being damaged by Nasreen.
Not every member of the the Goodreads community appreciated James Lasdun's
heartfelt complaint about their forum. La Petite Americaine asked: 'maybe Lasdun can't
handle a bad review on goodreads? If he's trolling goodreads for bad reviews of his
books, who's stalking who?'
Roger Ebert's review appeared years before any of the events in Give Me
Everything You Have: On Being Stalked. Rather eerily, however, his review, as
published in The Record, was originally entitled: 'Promise Her Anything.' In his
summation of the story, Ebert describes the characters of the black maid and the white
householder, fascinated by each other, in a house so big that 'they move around it like
stalkers.'
Foretellings
Several reviewers have noted that key themes from Give Me Everything are also
found in James Lasdun's novel, The Horned Man. In this 2003 novel, an academic
believes he is being framed for a series of crimes, and is pursued by anonymous letters
and a lurking, invisible stalker. James Lasdun muses over this in the memoir, where he
finds that the novel's descriptions of elaborate malice had 'a pertinence I struggle to find
purely coincidental ...' (Lasdun, 132).
But the similarity between memoir and fiction does not end there. James Lasdun's
second novel, Seven Lies, was published in 2006, and is barely mentioned in the memoir.
The theme of this novel is plagiarism ‒ an unusual theme for a novel ‒ and the very
offence of which Nasreen appears to accuse James Lasdun. The novel is about deception,
appropriations of texts, and revenge ‒ themes we find again in Give Me Everything You
Have. Previous to that, the most well known short story by James Lasdun was 'The
Seige', and it is about a Third World woman with an attraction to privileged European
male who is a music composer.
It is indeed distinctive to find so many themes from James Lasdun's fiction
manifesting in his life. It is the type of dilemma which a psychoanalyst would find to be
revealing.
In an interview with The Spectator, at the time of the publication of Water
Sessions in 2012, James Lasdun credits the poetry collection with a memoir-like purpose:
The book [of poetry] is about taking stock of this meandering course of my life.
There was this one long poem, 'Water Sessions', which I used for the title of the book
because it seemed to bring all the themes of the book together, sort of looking back
over life. Part of that poem has to do with my own experience of psychoanalysis: which
is a process of taking account of your whole life as much as you possibly can.'
It is surprising to learn that James Lasdun was undergoing psychoanalysis. This is
never mentioned in the memoir, yet it is salient to the whole situation. He describes
conversations with friends, where he told them over and over again about Nasreen's
harassment. Did he not talk about it to the analyst? What was their response?
The only accounts of James Lasdun's psychoanalysis are given in the form of
poetry. The poem Water Sessions is well summarized here in the TLS review: 'A witty
psychoanalytic dialogue, it finds a therapist intent on getting at the facts, and a patient
refusing straightforwardly to discuss an argument with his partner, instead comparing
himself to a host of hapless mythological characters.'
For readers of the memoir, this poem can give a moment of astonished
recognition. Upon reading it, one realizes that James Lasdun has taken a series of tropes
from the poem, and has lightly rewritten them as prose, and presented them in the
memoir as reflections about his relationship with Nasreen. In the earlier published poem,
these ideas about the angry Goddess and her maledictions (Ceres, Diana, etc.) were
ascribed to his arguments with an unnamed woman who threw water in his face. In the
memoir, exactly the same series of examples ‒ Ceres, Diana, etc. ‒ is used to describe his
interaction with Nasreen, who only ever met him once outside of class, and was
surprisingly lowkey. (Lasdun, 213)
In Give Me Everything you have, James Lasdun describes how some emails from
Nasreen echoed his fictional works, upon looking back, he could see that the prose turned
out: 'to be a sly recycling of something I myself had written ... ' (Lasdun, 21) To judge by
this example, he might be describing his own technique. The repetition, once observed,
makes the memoir seem much less spontaneous, and more of an exercise in writing than a
reaction to a personal crisis.
Throughout Give Me Everything, James Lasdun presents himself as someone
living a very quiet and balanced life, which was disastrously torpedoed by Nasreen's
campaign of malice. The only way out of this was to create the memoir about Nasreen,
and thus to face up to, and gain power over the anxiety to which she had reduced him.
The memoir project revived his spirits, even if it was only:
the false excitement of desperation: the knowledge that I had to do something if
I wasn't going to jump off a bridge, that writing was what I knew how to do best, and
that at this point the only subject I was capable of writing about was Nasreen. ... I had
begun to feel I should go to Jerusalem before writing this book. My idea was to situate
myself at the geographic and spiritual heart of Judaism so that I could re-examine
what I had experienced ... (Lasdun, 166) [emphasis mine]
What an ordeal. However, it might have been some consolation to James Lasdun
to recall that he had faced an earlier crisis, which he wrote about in a 2006 essay 'Salad
Days' for the London Review of Books. The descriptions of both crises are essentially the
same:
About twelve years ago ... I went through a period of disenchantment with the
writing life. ... feeble inspiration that left me at the end of each day with pages of drivel
and my own version of the feeling Kafka describes in his diary as 'inner leprosy'.... It
was clear to me that I needed to take myself in hand. 'You must change your life' ...
Among the answers that came to mind, one of the few that didn't involve a rope or a
bottle of pills, was that of moving to the country and living off the land. [emphasis
mine]
James Lasdun's 2006 essay then describes his adventures in toiling for a while in
market garden.
If one looks at either one of these texts, they are compelling, fresh and
convincing. Together, however, they appear to be the repetition of a fixed idea, attached
arbitrarily to different circumstances.
Politics of the Middle East
The story of a sensitive, morally upright American, viciously attacked by an
irrational, malevolent, Iranian, is an encapsulation of the international politics of the
2008-12 era, as seen by Western audiences. James Lasdun himself was aware of the
wider significance of the story, and as part of his preparation to write his memoir, he
resolved visit Israel, the location and spiritual home of Judaism, in order to ponder the
meaning of Nasreen's attacks against him.
It is important to the narrative in Give Me Everything that James Lasdun
perceives himself as entering Israel as a liberal sympathetic to Palestinian rights, who has
been forcibly obliged to confront the ugly reality of anti-Semitism. As stated by an
interviewer in Forward Magazine on 1 March 2013: 'Politically, his sympathy tends
toward Palestinians. Consequently, he perceives his situation's oddness ... ' I see no
evidence at all in favor of James Lasdun's self-depiction, and indeed I find it faux naive. I
am inclined to ask why the question of Palestinian rights should be dragged into a
conflict between an Anglo-American and his Iranian acquaintance.
In the event, James Lasdun does not record a single conversation with a
Palestinian, nor even a close physical description of any of them, in all of his Jerusalem
writings. Most of his anecdotes about Jerusalem and the Middle East conflict are
tendentious, and rely upon emotions rather than accuracy. I will give one example.
According to James Lasdun, the military commander who seized the Old City and
put it under Jordanian control, not only destroyed the Hurva synagogue, but actually
made the following inflammatory statement: 'for the first time in a thousand years not a
single Jew remains in the Jewish Quarter. Not a single building remains intact. This
makes the Jews' return here impossible'. (Lasdun, 104) James Lasdun comments
portentously that thinking about the 'strange boast' of the Jordanian commander will
make one see the presence of the Jewish population flocking to the Western wall with
particular historical insight.
This is indeed a strange statement, and I wonder where James Lasdun picked it
up.
In 1948, the Arab Legion, a unit of the Jordanian Army, was led by Abdullah AlTal. That quotation, attributed to Abdullah al-Tal can be found on numerous internet sites
which are of an extreme anti-Palestinian bent. As soon as one looks up this quotation,
which James Lasdun presents as obvious and accurate, one sinks into a morass of
propaganda. The quote exists in various wordings, which do not inspire confidence. Even
worse is the fact that no one ever provides a source for the quotation ‒ it has no date, nor
any exact documentary reference.
One does not find this amazing quotation in the historical writings about the era. I
have consulted document collections, histories of the 1948 war, histories of Jerusalem,
academic articles, and the recently published biography, Abdullah Al-Tal Arab Legion
Officer, by Ronen Yitzhak. All of these sources quote Abdullah Al-Tal, and none of them
include the statement presented by James Lasdun.
Elaine Showalter, in her review of Give Me Everything, says that it offers: 'a
narrative of the Zionist journey from defamation and destruction to self-defence'. This
aspect of the memoir appeals to Western audiences, and convinces them not through
information or verity, but through emotions, rhetoric and the power of association.
Reflections
In April 2013 another writer provided an account of her experiences with
Nasreen. Porochista Khakpour, an American woman whose family is Iranian, published a
novel, Sons and Other Flammable Objects, in late 2007. In an article in Guernica
magazine, she interviewed James Lasdun, and comments on her own situation as one of
the people stalked by Nasreen. Porochista Khakpour describes a campaign of hostile
emails, vandalism of her Wikipedia page, and insults on Facebook. Porochista Khakpour
became an object of animus at the time of the publication of her novel, which Nasreen
apparently believed was based on her own writings. One of Nasreen's allegations against
Lasdun is that he had unethically circulated her unpublished manuscripts to other writers,
in order that they might plagiarise them.
The Guernica interview gives both James Lasdun and Porochista Khakpour a
chance to review their experiences, and to comment on the potency of Nasreen's
disruption of their lives:
James Lasdun: Really interesting to hear how closely your experience resembles
mine ‒ the same threats, the same incredibly upsetting accusations, even the same absurd
business of having to do a reading under guard.
James Lasdun and Porochista Khakpour had apparently never met before this
interview. Porochista Khakpour reproduces an email which she had sent some years
earlier, in an attempt to contact James Lasdun about Nasreen's wild allegations, but as she
explains, this email never went through as it was an outdated email address. Porochista
Khakpour has also never met Nasreen, and relies upon webpages for information about
her. Porochista Khakpour's descriptions of Nasreen are disconcerting:
I was often fascinated by how similar we seemed: visually (though she went out
of the way to both make fun of my looks and to say I'd stolen her look), and even our
interests (yoga, which I also taught, hip hop, which provided the soundtrack to my
adolescence‒ even our love of PJ Harvey, Cat Power, and Will Oldham, which I
consider rather particular)... And it seems like this person was a real writing student, a
journalist, a professor, a yoga teacher‒ all things that she shared with me.
If one looks more closely at the life of Porochista Khakpour, one finds even more
threads of similarity with Nasreen. It is uncanny. Both used to live in New York, but
moved to the West Coast by 2011. Both have described themselves as suffering from
illness which drastically reduced their weight. Both have been victims of sexual assault ‒
Nasreen's correspondence, as cited by James Lasdun, refers to her long-term trauma
which followed a rape at an office party. In a Dec 2012 article in Slate, Porochista
Khakpour writes that at the age of twenty-five she had : 'already gone through all sorts of
heinous tribulations that I had convinced myself were female rites of passage‒a date rape
in Newark, N.J.; an assault by two men in Martha's Vineyard ...'
There is a certain similarity, also, in their world views, their way of dramatically
asserting a sense of outrage, and also, of introducing Iranianism into many different
topics. I will give one example from Porochista Khakpour article about American use of
firearms, on Slate:
There are so many horrible angles to the Connecticut school tragedy to
investigate and contemplate ... Because when we see photos of women in veils in my
native Iran holding machine guns, we still think badass. When we see Angelina Jolie
with her Lara Croft bandolier, like a beauty-pageant sash around her military sex-doll
fatigues, we think hot. ... But even a sweet Connecticut housewife and mother, or a
literary geek like me, can get swept up in the false power of guns. It's time to realize
what much of gun-loving actually is‒ a passion for destruction veiled as protection.
When reading this, one feels that one is in the spectacular world of Nasreen's
opinions. But such passing similarities are nothing, compared to the disconcerting fact
that Porochista Khakpour, like Nasreen, has a history of using electronic means to stalk
people, send false messages, create impersonations, and cause havoc.
In June 2012, Porochista Khakpour published an article in the internet magazine
Canteen, which described the illnesses and stress she suffered, in 2007, while awaiting
the publication of her novel. She tried various means to alleviate her malaise, such as
therapy, yoga and acupuncture but the only thing that helped is: 'Crank calls. This is a
truth, sadly ...'
But this time,[in 2007] when I began crank-calling my friends with the
assistance of my boyfriend, was something else. We had characters. We called famous
people, professional contacts. Some never found out who it was. For one friend, it went
so far that he paid to track the phone, a new pay-as-you-go that my boyfriend had
recently bought. He was, to put it mildly, pissed. ... To this day, I have not patched up
things with about half a dozen victims ... I lost friends I'd had for more than 20 years.
What do you say? How do you explain it?
This is extraordinary. How is it possible that the first person who is willing to go
on the record as having encountered Nasreen, is another person so like Nasreen, even
down to being an impersonator and stalker?
In previous times, such as during the 17th to the 19th century, people suffering
from insanity often believed that they had a doppelganger ‒ a copy of themselves, which
followed or haunted them. Nasreen might feel that she is one of the last sufferers from
this condition.
The question of mental illness wafts around this memoir. James Lasdun has
asserted that Nasreen was motivated firstly by an obsession with him, and then by an
extraordinary degree of malice. The memoir asks: 'What happened ‒ between us, or to her
alone ‒ to make my unremarkable existence matter so much to her?' (Lasdun, 212)
An unflattering, but comprehensive, answer would be that she had major
problems ‒ beginning with post-traumatic stress disorder, which then escalated to a
severe psychosis which might even have been late onset schizophrenia. However, James
Lasdun does not agree with this reading of her behavior, and states that she was a person
who was 'using the idea of insanity as leverage for manipulation.' (Lasdun, 194)
The person whom he describes as Nasreen has been outed on internet sites, and is
well known to have endured years of major mental health problems, which included
hallucinations, medication and even hospitalization. References to this have often been
recorded in her online writings, and have conditioned the way that people view her and
react to her. It is extraordinary that James Lasdun never mentions this. Either, those who
identify Nasreen are mistaken, or else he should be nominated for the James Frey Award
for Accuracy in Memoir Writing.
There is a reason why editors who received letters about James Lasdun from his
stalker just cast them aside, as described by Nick Richardson, in the London Review of
Books, in April 2013. People who live out her fate are separate from the rest of us. As
described Nick Richardson, 'she remains alone ... clearly very ill ...'
Give Me Everything is full of ironies ‒ despite being so appalled by Nasreen's
descriptions of him, James Lasdun has printed and circulated them. It was he, not her,
who published the correspondence. He had a disparaging review by Nasreen removed
from the Amazon site ‒ but then reproduces it in his memoir, and thus giving it a much
greater readership than it ever would have had.
One reading of the memoir is that Nasreen's fixation on James Lasdun was the
only thing that ever made his life remarkable, and that so he takes a pride in it. This might
also be the reason for his incapacity to stop the harassment, and his dismissal of the
notion that it might all be no more than the abject symptoms of mental illness. However,
these are only speculations on my part, and it is difficult to fully judge a relationship
when one is given so little relevant information. James Lasdun himself is very firm that
from the start he had an antipathy to Nasreen's bad ways, which included circulating
other people's emails:
I didn't like being sent this stuff any more than I'd liked it when she forwarded
me the email of her old classmate. I didn't like the careless flouting of basic codes of
privacy. I didn't like the self-intoxicated tone. (Lasdun, 27)
One can only agree.
Art Gallery
James Bryron Love
James is an extraordinarily active intellectual as well as an internationally
recognized artist, writer, and poet. He has an extensive production of philosophical
essays, novels, short novels, and poetry collections. In particular, James has authored so
far 3 books and several short stories. Among his publications of poetry we will here
remember the book Stuttering Dreams, appeared in 2010.
He is also author of Harvesting the Dream, a philosophy essay for the general
public. James is well versed in painting, photography, digital art and even sculpture. His
artistic career started as sculptor (working on stone) and developed including oil painting,
digital art, and photography..
Titled Breaking Light
Oil on Canvas
The foot hills of the Rockies as the light breaks over the dawn
Titled : Late Autumn from Calgary
The Rocky Mountains rise up from the foothills as the sun begins to set in late
Autumn
You can find more of his artwork and books
at http://jamesbryronlove.com
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Carlin Blahnik
As a child I loved colors, crayons, paints and never grew tired of dabbling in art
over the years. With retirement from my nursing career came the freedom of time to
devote to painting. I have painted steadily since 2006. Watercolor medium is, for me, the
most beautiful to paint with. I love crisp colors and enjoy adding pizzazz when I paint.
The attributes of transparency and depth of watercolor fascinate me. I enjoy adding each
color to my canvas, then allow the pigments to mingle just enough to create this vibrant
depth. I am self taught and continue learning with each stroke. Always painting in my
minds eye. Even the most ordinary objects in daily life provide inspiration to paint, and I
treasure this creative outlet.
Title : The Baths Palm Tree
The Baths is an area on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands, BVI. The
boulder formations are breathtaking. This setting is in a tropical paradise. The water is
shades of turquoise and these colors reflect off the moisture in the sky. The sky and
clouds change colors with the breeze. Here a single palm tree rises up into the colorful
sky and the fronds dance in the breeze. The golden sand glistens in the sun and
occasionally gets dampened by a soft ocean wave. The Bath boulders are intriguing to
explore, navigate, climb, and discover hidden tidal pools. The viewer travels around these
boulders, experiences the soft sand and feels the warm tropical breeze.
Title : Sunlit Palm
The intricacies of the beautiful palm trees provide endless exploration. There are
the many shades of greens and soft texture of the new palm stems. The seed pods, brown,
hard and hollow once opened. Squiggly golden yellow stems from the fruit pods. Where
once was an old stem, there is now a deeply textured rusty brown bark. Fronds sway in
the breeze casting dancing shadows. Birds and insects often move in and out. Endless
entertainment.
Find more of her work here
http://carlin-blahnik.artistwebsites.com/index.html
----------------------------------------
Annie Zeno
I love creating with a passion deep within my soul. I know and understand all the
elements of design but I create mostly from an inner place. I love art, all kinds, so
therefore I don't hold myself to one type of medium.
We have beauty all around us and I hope my art will make some people stop and
reflect on all the world has to offer.
Title: Stillness Speaks
This digital artwork depicts love and passion in an abstract way. You see the unity
between the two partners. The emotions are all depicted in the different colors which
represents the different emotions that happen between any two people in love. The
lightest colors are joy, love and passion. The color black represents the emotions of fear
that can happen in the relationship. The front form is larger and has some darker colors
that mean this from is the male and is the stronger of the two. The second form that is
further back is smaller, lighter in color to represent the pretty one.
http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/annie-zeno.html
Boyhood to Manhood
by Fiza Pathan
Jainam Nagada was a pleasant boy of fourteen years studying in the ninth grade,
in one of the few ICSE schools in the area. The boy who was now realizing that he would
soon be a man was fond of many things; he was fond of books, sketching and playing
with his newly acquired puppy with a black patch…but most of his attention had shifted
to one person, and that was Suzanne D’Costa, his History and English Literature teacher.
Jainam thought the world of her; her teaching methods enamoured her pupils to
her and Jainam was one of them. When she expounded the working of the United
Nations, traced the history of the Ottoman Turks or read out a poem of Yeats, Jainam was
struck with a mystical amorousness for the teacher that overpowered his senses. He did
well in her subjects and soon became her best pupil. Jainam often spoke of his teacher at
home with his patient father and mother…he was even talking about Suzanne D’Costa on
that fateful Saturday evening when the family had gone out to dinner, in one of the most
expensive vegetarian restaurants in town.
“Eat up the bhendi Jainam,” said Jainam’s mother before stuffing a slice of
tomato into her mouth. Jainam picked the delicate vegetable with his spoon and
gracefully put it down his throat. He always found it easier to obey his parents outside the
four walls of his bungalow than within it, especially his mother who hated even a bit of
food left over on a person’s plate.
“For heaven’s sake Nandini, don’t rush the boy,” said Jainam’s humourous father
gruffly, who often came to the rescue of the boy.
“Both father and son are alike, why if we were in the village, we would be
scorned for wasting so much food,” said Jainam’s mother irritably.
“Whatever you say my dear…let’s look on the bright side, Jainam and I are really
starting to be alike in many ways,” said Jainam’s father pointing his fork towards his
son… “Same build and appetite, same dark brown complexion, similar taste in books and
matching mannerisms….”
“But thank God not the same taste in women,” said Jainam indicating his mother.
“We know your woman dear, Miss Suzanne D’Costa,” said Jainam’s mother
winking.
“Well, she is simply amazing you know,” replied Jainam starting off on a
monologue about his favourite teacher when suddenly Jainam’s father looked up from his
plate and gesticulated wildly.
“What is it dear?” asked Jainam’s mother in a mocking tone,” Now since when
did you start fancying teachers?”
“Son!” replied Jainam’s father his eyes transfixed, “Describe your teacher.”
“Oh, so you are getting interested in her…well oh well……”
“Quiet Nandini I think our son’s ‘living doll’ is sitting a few tables away,”
whispered Jainam’s father brandishing his fork in front of his wife’s face.
“Where father…..where?” yelled Jainam with excitement.
“Hold on lover boy…you see,” said Jainam’s father pointing to a lone table a few
yards away from where they were sitting.
“My you’re right Santosh,” said Jainam’s mother turning around.
“You see my dear, I know my women…I mean my son’s women,” replied
Jainam’s father with pleasure.
Indeed as the nuclear family watched, Miss Suzanne D’Costa was sitting alone on
a table wearing a black ‘salwar kameez’ over a raven black patiyala. She had emerald
green eyes and a very fair complexion. She seemed to be waiting for someone, who
entered the restaurant after a few minutes and sat opposite Suzanne at her table.
“Poor Jainam, seems you’ve got competition,” squealed Jainam’s father.
“Shut up Santosh, don’t upset the boy,” but more than upset Jainam was puzzled.
The man now sitting opposite Miss Suzanne was speaking to her. He had a small black
briefcase which he handed over to her. He then asked her a few questions to which she
answered with several nods and immediately thereafter the man left leaving Suzanne and
the briefcase at the table.
“That was a short one,” said Jainam’s mother as she ate the kheer from her plate.
“Hey Jainam, is your teacher a drug peddler?”
“Don’t upset the boy,” said Jainam’s mother slapping her husband lightly on the
knuckles.
“Well, either that was a really short date or a very strange encounter” said
Jainam’s father jocularly. “Remember son, never run after the mysterious girl of your
dreams…oh pardon me…mysterious teacher of your dreams…it’s bound to turn into a
nightmare ha-ha!”
“Very funny Santosh,” replied Jainam’s mother in a jeering tone. But Jainam was
not too sure about the incident, he didn’t feel jealous nor inferior…while staring at the
resolute face of his teacher, there was only one thing that passed through his mind…and
that was terror, a terror that fixed him on his seat with his spoon in hand not allowing him
to even go upto say a ‘hello’ to his teacher. At length Suzanne got up from her table and
left with the briefcase.
It was Monday morning and the whole household of the Nagada bungalow was in
a mess. Mrs. Nagada was yelling at the cook, Mr. Nagada was talking to someone on his
blackberry while Jainam was packing his bag for school. While he was doing so Jainam
got hold of the morning ‘Times of India’ and started to skim through the headlines which
was his daily routine.
As his eyes fell on the first news item of the day, he stood shocked and
bewildered as in front of him was the picture of the man who met his teacher in the
restaurant. Below his picture the news item read:
“The naxal problem now shows signs of emerging in metros. Senior naxal
Captain was caught last night trying to escape from the city. The naxalites have been
fighting for a singular cause to uplift the poor especially the poor of East India through
means of terror and violence. Captain Kishore, the naxal leader has confessed to have
been planning bomb blasts in this city with the aid of specially prepared bombs in black
suitcases….”
And Jainam could not read the rest. He tore off the page from the newspaper,
tucked it in his shirt pocket and grabbing his backpack ran out towards his private car.
At school in the first period Miss Suzanne was to take English Literature. Jainam
caught sight of her as she entered class wearing a Kashmiri coat piece which had a collar
that ran all the way up to her dainty pale neck.
“Good morning students. Today we will do a patriotic poem by Henry Vivian
Derozio.”
“Will it be boring?” asked Aasha a student sitting next to Jainam.
“Patriotism and the love for one’s country never turns sour my dear…open your
books to page 40…to the poem “To India, My Native Land.” All the pupils mechanically
turned over the pages. “Jainam son can you read the poem?”
This was the part he was dreading but he still got up from his hard seat and with
the courage of a lion he recited the poem which such fervour that it shocked those around
him and he read it so loudly that some even started to tease him:
“My country!
In thy day of glory past
A beauteous halo circled round thy brow….”
“Looks like Jainam has suddenly got the patriotic fever ha-ha,” mocked Denzil
sitting behind Jainam but Miss Suzanne said nothing.
She called Jainam after class during her free period…..with determined steps
Jainam went to meet her. She was alone in the staff room her elbow resting over her desk
and her emerald sparkling eyes gazing out of the staff room window into the distance. As
Jainam approached her, he saw to his horror that on her desk was the suitcase he had seen
that night in the restaurant.
“Why did you stop son?”
“That …that case….case,” fumbled Jainam clutching his chest to steady his
heartbeat.
“What about it son,” replied Miss Suzanne her eyes now resting upon his
thumping chest.
“Don’t call me son,” howled Jainam to even his own astonishment.
“Why my dear,” said Suzanne in a humourous tone with that dimpled smile that at
one point of time used to drive Jainam crazy and now made him mortally afraid, “…have
I said something wrong, aren’t you one of my dearest students,” continued Miss Suzanne
getting up from her seat and gently placing her delicate glossy white hand on Jainam’s
shoulder, “Come on tell me what ails you?”
Very astutely and through gritted teeth Jainam let out the word, “Naxalite!”
Miss Suzanne’s demeanour did not change but the hand that gripped Jainam’s
shoulder gripped it even tighter that it made the boy want to scream. In a sort of defence
Jainam took out the torn scrap of newspaper from his shirt pocket and held it up to his
teacher who stared fixedly at it. Her grip on his shoulders loosened and she looked almost
timidly into his dark brown eyes. To rid himself of her usual spell Jainam said in a
whisper full of hate.
“I saw you at the restaurant,” at this Suzanne closed her eyes and a tear ran down
one of her pale and spotless cheeks. But Jainam was persistent.
“I thought the world of you Ma’am and you, you want to kill me….and my
friends…”
“Look my son…,” murmured Suzanne.
“Don’t call me that! I’m no son of a killer…murderer…I am the son of that
teacher who was teaching me about patriotism a moment ago….not yours!”
Suzanne gave a scornful laugh and said, “There is no other patriot greater than me
for my cause. You rich people sit in the metros, while we in the East die every day. There
is no other way to teach Delhi a lesson than by the death of Mumbai’s children.”
Jainam immediately started to whimper, but then a second thought came to him
and he dashed for the suitcase…but it was empty.
“What are you going to do Ma’am? Where are your bombs? Don’t do this
Ma’am, we all love you…I love you, we never did anything to you…,” as he said this he
was about to touch his teacher when she jerked up from her seat, quickly stopping
Jainam’s hand and simply said: “Don’t touch me,” and Jainam realized where the bombs
were. He sat down upon the floor and cried his heart out; it never occurred to him that he
could make a run for it. No…he was a man now, a man lost in love. It is sad when one
loses ones God and a teacher is always the form of The Brahma on Earth..of Sarawati the
Goddess of learning, but Miss Suzanne had defiled his beautiful and wise Goddess. He
mourned over her feet for fifteen minutes before he said:
“I….I loved you Miss…are you really going to kill me too?” That melted the
naxalites heart. She sat gently upon her chair with tears running down her cheek. Under
her sobs she said sternly:
“My quest has to be fulfilled whatever be the cost. But you can escape, run away
through the back gate and forget that you ever loved a teacher like me. Go son go! Before
you too, are enslaved by Yamraj.”
Jainam got up from his place and walked towards the staff room door saying,
“Will nothing change your mind Ma’am?” to which she replied in verse.
“A few fragments of those wrecks sublime which human eyes may never more
behold…”
Jainam was about to open the door when he stood quite still. He remembered the
time he first met Miss Suzanne. She was taking the attendance when his name was called
out.
“Roll No 28 Jainam Nagada.”
“Present!”
“I see your voice is hoarse son, are you ill?”
“No Ma’am…it’s cracking,” to which the class laughed.
Miss Suzanne hushed them and then with great affection said,
“Well then, let me take you through my teaching from boyhood to manhood.
Shall we take this journey together?”
“Yes Ma’am…I will.”
Coming back to the present Jainam turned to look at his teacher. She stood there
all alone with tears in her eyes.
“Shall we take this journey together?”
Jainam did not want anyone in his school to die….he had to make sure that the
explosion would take place outside the school, in midair.
Immediately Jainam rushed towards his teacher throwing her and himself out of
the window as he hugged her close to his chest.
*************
More from her at
http://www.amazon.com/Fiza-Pathan/e/B0091BCNTU
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10 Reasons Why a Writing Profession is on the Top Career List
Writing has many advantages to any other profession in the world. Here are the
ten reasons that a “writing job” is on the list for top careers in the world. From freedom
of schedules to endless opportunities, writers have the best job in the world.
1. Writing is something that allows one person to express themselves without
worrying about what others think of them. Most writers are completely nuts, myself
included. You have to be a little crazy to write fiction things about things that don’t make
any sense to most people, but it might make complete sense to other writers.
2. Writers have complete freedom to do what they want. Never before has a
writer had the opportunity to go places as they do today. Nothing to tie them down to one
place. They can always carry their family with them. They don’t have a boss other than
maybe an agent. Then again, a writer can fire their agent.
3. Writers have several ways to make their career profession pay. They can write
books, write articles for blogs, write engaging content for web users, write for magazines
and businesses. The list goes on and on.
4. Writing is a reward in itself. Freedom to escape stress from outside forces.
Writers enjoy what they write about. Writing is not considered a job to them.
5. Writers can make more social contacts than most other professionals. There
are so many forums that invite writers to express themselves. Bloggers and other website
users invite writers to add content. They can add contacts from around the globe.
6. Writers have the ability to touch people’s lives. There is no other career out
there where a person can touch people around the world more than a writer can.
7. Writers can write anywhere. They can write from the comfort of their home,
or at a restaurant. They can write while waiting in line to pay their bills.
8. Low cost advantages to the profession of writing. Writers can use paper, pens,
napkins, and toilet tissue, anything to write on. They can borrow their child’s crayons to
write with.
9. Writers can set their own hours. They don’t have a nine to five job. They can
sleep in, or they can go to bed early if they want. They are not tied to a schedule of any
kind.
10. Last of all, writers have the opportunity of making a lot of money. I didn’t
say all writers are rich, but some are. There is no limit to how much a writer can make.
They do not have a set hourly wage.
by Tracy Kauffman- Author and Publisher
http://tracykauffman.wordpress.com.
Murray Coleman
Behind the Lens
With Deuce Wylde
Featuring
Nature Photographer - Murray Coleman
Hi Murray thanks for doing this interview.
Liphar: I found your website
(http://murraycolemanimages.com) recently and really enjoy
your style and the subjects that you choose.
First, could you give us a little background about your early life? Where you
raised in Australia? When did you become interested in nature?
MC: I was born and raised in an outback Queensland country town, where I spent
the best part of 20 odd years. Moreover, it was those early years with thanks to an Aunty
for planting the seeds of creativity through the gift of a B&W developing kit and a
camera.
Nature was not always an overly important part of my life. Not until after I
finished my Double Communications Degree in Photomedia and Journalism did I begin
employment as a rural reporter (photojournalist) for the local newspaper in Geraldton,
Western Australia. This was more than just a job…it was an education in nature!
Farmers, professors, government departments and affiliated bodies were
instrumental for my re-birth in opening my eyes and looking at nature from a different
perspective. It was during this phase that I decided I wanted to express my artistic
fixation of nature though photo images.
Liphar: In addition to being a job or a hobby, what is photography to you?
MC: Although pretty much self-taught, the infatuation and passion I have with
photography fuels my artistic obsession to communicate, where I try to capture both the
physical and emotional nature of light. Photography should enrich your soul and
invigorate your spirit. I think people often try to over-interpret photographs and they miss
the bigger picture.
Liphar: What kind of feelings do you want to channel to people that are
viewing your images?
MC: When people are viewing my images, I want them to feel like they establish
an emotional connection. I try to capture images that evoke meaningful reflection and
engagement through metaphor.
Liphar: What do you draw your inspiration from?
MC: I draw inspiration from being surrounded by nature. It's the grand expanse
and sheer beauty of planet earth is what can be revealed through an expressive image.
How much control the ‘digital darkroom’ has given me over my images, It’s
really made me love photography even more than I already did, which ‘way back when,’
I didn’t even think was possible.
Liphar: What do you think about the digital era and its impact on
photography?
MC: I love how it has exploded the possibilities of all types of photography. How
much control the ‘digital darkroom’ has given me over my images, It’s really made me
love photography even more than I already did, which ‘way back when,’ I didn’t even
think was possible.
Liphar: What is your general photographic philosophy?
MC: The fragrance, wind, mountains, waters, flowers are what constitute the
natural world and as a photographer, my task is to isolate the necessary elements and
design a frame for you so that you can establish that emotional contact. It’s the sense of
peace, serenity and stillness that I love to portray through my images. I also feel that
through these images, I can make a difference to the attitudes of people towards mother
earth. With a "through my eyes" look at the world, I lure the viewer on a visual journey,
to be lost in the moment of exposure.
Liphar: What is the best lesson that you have learned from photography?
MC: Patience! Photographers need to have a lot of patience when creating
images, as it may take a long time before the perfect lighting situation presents itself.
Liphar: Murray, one last question: Any advice that you would give to
amateur nature photographers?
MC: Don’t look too much at what has been done before. Go out and see what you
are touched by. See what you can do to express it. And don’t compare yourself to others.
Get to know your gear intimately. Know its strengths, weaknesses and learn
which setting you need in every different situation.
Practice, practice and practice some more.
Learn to shoot knowing the rules, then be creative and break them.
Learn about light: which means, being out there searching for the best light and
trying to capture it.
Thank you Murray for your insights and experiences with photography!
Find more of his work at
http://murraycolemanimages.com
Twitter Debacle
By Alvin Johnston
Twitter, a social media giant with in excess of 645,750,000 members. There are
few other companies out there that can match these types and numbers. Facebook has
even more.
The main issue with the company of this size is getting a response to a question.
Even harder is getting a correct response to a question. They do employ a massive service
staff to help with the daily running of the operation. Do they really care about you? Do
they really care about spammers and bots.
If you listen to the hype, yes indeed they do, they value your membership. The
reality is sadly different.
Rules for twitter are extensive and seemed to change daily. They don't give an
accurate representation with the rules and when you violate one of the rules, they suspend
your account. Often times, the reason for the suspension, doesn’t make a whole lot of
sense.
App developers face an uphill battle continuously, especially for the small app
developers. If you violate a rule, you are rapidly suspended and rarely is a suspension
ever lifted. You get canned responses that have little or nothing to do with the situation.
Let's look at an isolated case.
Trying to get a twitter handle that is unique is difficult at best and the most you
can usually hope for is some similar to what you want.
Let's take the case of twitter account ID @N, very unique and an ID that the
particular individual has had since 2007. That makes him a member on twitter for about
seven years. This particular individual has been offered up to $50,000 for the twitter
name and had refused all offers.
In January 2014, his problems began. A particular hacker wanted the twitter name
and then went to great lengths to achieve that result. It was a media storm because of
those results. Various companies were involved including some of the biggest, PayPal
and GoDaddy. Through specific social engineering, this hacker managed to gain control
of the PayPal account and the Go Daddy account. He also changed all the passwords
including all passwords for email and then rerouted the email to himself.
The response from PayPal, was unenlightened at best. They said they never gave
out any information including credit card details to anyone. That's an absolute lie.
Go Daddy, admitted that one of their employees may have given out some
information. Further statements from Go Daddy confirm this as well as a pledge to
tighten up on their particular security.
How does this affect twitter, well twitter decided it wasn't a problem. After much
harassment their only comment was that they were looking into it.
The particular hacker then approached the owner of the twitter account and
offered an exchange. Even give back all access to his PayPal and is Go Daddy accounts
in exchange for the twitter ID. He suggested as well that if the deal cannot be struck he
would do damage to the PayPal account as well as the Go Daddy account and all websites
under control of that individual.
The individual with the twitter account relinquish control of the name and indeed
did get his information back.
Twitter is aware of all of this and still will not back up a member of theirs that has
been around for seven years.
Twitter routinely does whatever it feels like including changing the rules on the
fly and when questioned about this their responses are basic. They are stopping spammers
and bots and everything else in between.
Reality is a completely different story; twitter is a large company that for most of
its inception hasn't made any money. They have a public offering for its stock and the
need to boost everything to make them look more profitable. The entire new version of
twitter revolves around that particular concept.
On twitter, you will find now advertisements that are geographically targeted to
you. They've also opened it up so that images display automatically thus producing better
ads. It's marketing plain and simple and there's no getting around that.
They have no interest at all in stopping the bots. Once again, it's a marketing
prospectus. Marketing deals with numbers. In magazines, it deals in circulation, how
many people are getting a copy of your magazine or newspaper. This determines
advertising rates as well as other cost factors.
They have no interest in stopping bots because bots still represent numbers. When
you are an APP developer and you sign up to build an app for twitter, there's a captcha
code that you have to enter in. There is no getting around it, as it is a pertinent part of the
structure. Now let's look at building the twitter account. Damn easy to do, all using email
address.
Bots take advantage of that fact. In fact, there's bots software out there that you
can get and run and it is capable of setting up over 1000 twitter account today. Twitter
accounts complete with BIO and images that are unique. This makes them hard to spot a
bot. They then use these 1000 accounts to spam the hell out of twitter.
Twitter may eventually shut down some of these bots, however is not in their best
interest to do so. Remember the advertising, remember the numbers game, they need to
fluff up their numbers to make their advertising worthwhile.
This makes you just another number to them. They will not waste a whole lot of
effort in making you comfortable or overseeing your problems. The statement that you're
just a number is very important. It sets the reality of twitter.
The original inception a twitter was nothing like this, but it is now and quite
possibly is only going to change for the worst.
Twitter is ideal for microblogging, for letting people know what you're all about
as well providing some help in sales in your products or services. Retweets help spread
your word and because of the potential for sales most are willing to ignore deficiencies of
the twitter system, which are many.
Until a better system can be provided, you're essentially stuck with twitter. Bear
in mind that other companies will eventually infringe upon the now hearty twitter
territory.
Facebook had little or no competition and therefore didn't really pay attention to
their members. They have since found that teenagers have left Facebook in droves. They
moved onto Instagram and Snapchat and a host of other services that are more friendly to
their particular needs.
Twitter will face this sooner or later and it may not survive the sinking ship.
I spoke with hundreds of individuals that are thoroughly fed up with twitter but
have nowhere yet to go. Somebody somewhere is working on it. You can bet your life on
it.
Tomas Castano
Art for Life…
An Interview with Artist
Tomás Castaño
With Deuce Wylde
Hi Tomás thanks for doing this interview
Liphar: Tell us a little bit about yourself: What got you interested in art?
TC: I was born in Santander, Spain in 1953. I
am self-taught and never attended an art school. I have
experimented with materials, where eventually I
managed to create a unique style known as Urban
Landscape. My work is characterized by a serene and
poetic realism, which translates into delight when I
paint streets of old quarters, antique buildings and
facades with tradition. I feel my paintings catch the
magic of the aesthetics of antiques and transmit all the
warmth and humanization of unprocessed environments
of modern life.
Liphar: How long have you been painting?
TC: From a young age, I showed a special
inclination towards drawing, but not until the age of 17
did I take my first brush and start painting. Since
turning professional in 1998, I have been fortunate enough to share my work in
international exhibitions with renowned international figures as Guayasamin, Fabelo,
Botero and Tamayo in Ibero, American Art Fair Seoul, Korea 2012.
Liphar: What inspires your works?
TC: My work is mainly urban architecture and facades of ancient settlements. It
awakens in the viewer nostalgia, sentiment, customs, traditions and ways of life of those
who preceded us. And that makes me feel good.
Liphar: What is your preferred medium and why?
TC: I work interchangeably with acrylic and oil and carrier racks as cotton or
linen. Utilizing acrylic paint as a base, it gives more texture and better glazing, but I
always end my work with oil, where I believe that oil painting has more quality and
better color.
Liphar: What would you call your style?
TC: My style is purely realistic, with roots in the "New Madrid realism" that
inspired the Spanish teacher Antonio Lopez in the 60s. A large part of my work I feel
identifies with the style he taught his pupils, representing facades, cityscape and care
perspective.
Liphar: What's the best and worst thing about being an artist?
TC: Best; to express feelings through accomplishments and satisfaction you feel
when people value your work honestly…knowing that inspires and awakens memories of
times past.Worst; misunderstanding and rejection of many gallery owners to figurative
painting, giving priority to more avant-garde work, where explanations based on gross
manipulations are placed between clients and collectors of modern art.
Liphar: Can you remember one of the first things you painted? What makes
it memorable?
TC: My first book in 1970 contains a copy of a landscape with trees and a river…
a picture that was in the house of my mother and painted on wax paper.
Liphar: What advice do you have for aspiring artists?
TC: My advice to new artists is to have great faith and perseverance. Do not be
swayed by trends, gallery owners and what they do, let your work speak for itself. In the
end, it is your work that will define you as an artist or not.
Liphar: And finally, I would like to give you this opportunity to share five
images and tell us a little about each.
These two works represent the old taverns of old Madrid, which still remain.
Exterior decorated with varnished dark wood or red paint. The red paint identifies
good wine and this color became one of the hallmarks of these taverns.
On the cornice, the street number is clearly visible and the owner's name in white
and dark letters. Sometimes they wrote the street number on the projection of the cornice,
with the word "wine." For example: Wines Sagasta.
Artworks in a new series dedicated to Africa.
In this work, a scene is shown from the Malecon in Havana, Cuba that is the cover
of Cuban writer Raul Ortega's book "Fuacata," published in Mexico DF.
Editor's Note: Tomás has shown his work in group exhibitions in several
countries such as Germany, Netherlands, USA, France, Argentina, Japan, Italy, Korea
and numerous solo and group exhibitions in Spain. His work represented Cantabria in the
Florence Biennale in the 2005 edition.
Works in public collections.
Hotel Central, Santander, Spain
Hotel Palacio de Mar, Santander, Spain.
Castro Urdiales City Townhall, Castrourdiales, Spain
Villanueva de Villaescusa City Townhall, Villanueva de Villaescusa, Spain.
CC.OO Headquarters, Santander, Spain.
His works are in private collections in Spain, France, Puerto Rico, USA, Costa
Rica and Korea.
In 2012 he was invited by The General Electric Company, USA to take part of
the exhibition GE's 2012 Hispanic Heritage Month Art Exhibition.
He was invited by the Bellarte Gallery Seoul-Korea to participate in the IberoAmerican Art Fair Seoul 2012 and 2013, showing his work along with works of the
prestigious artists such as Fernando Botero, Oswaldo Guayasamin, Rufino Tamayo and
Roberto Fabelo.
LIST OF RECENT EXHIBITIONS
2013
30 Oct a 3 Nov.2013- Ibero-American Art Fair - Hamgaram Art Museum SEOUL-KOREA
Sep-Nov. 3 Mostra PORTO 2013
EX-POSITION 2013 -Maia- PORTO (Portugal).
ADOLFO DOMÍNGUEZ Foundation - colectiva “La Ciudad”- Madrid, Spain.
DEARTE – Medinacelli – Soria, Spain.
Plural Out Project - Vila Nova de Cerveira (Portugal).
Vivearte 2013 – Art Gallery María Nieves Martín-Villafranca de los BarrosBadajoz, Spain.
Ibero American Contemporary Art-Ara Art- Seoul-Korea.
2012
Ibero-American Art Fair - Hamgaram Art Museum - Seoul, Korea.
EMMA Art Gallery -“Paisajes Urbanos” Tomás Castaño and Emilio
Sotomayor, Madrid, Spain.
V Ruta de l'ART - Castelló d'Empuries (Girona) Spain.
19ème Salon des Arts Visuels de Poitiers – France.
GE's 2012 Hispanic Heritage Month Art Exhibition. Fairfield, Ct (USA).
KONTRASTE Art Gallery - Westfalia (Erwitte-Horn)-Germany.
Colectiva "Bienvenidos" - Goyart Art Gallery – Madrid, Spain.
Colorida Gallery – Lisboa, Portugal.
Este Art Gallery – Santander, Spain.
2ª Mostra de Porto, Porto – Portugal.
Second Festival Internacional D'Art de "Hauts Du Val de Saône" France.
ARTERIA Gallery-Monzón, Huesca, Spain.
FIARTE-Granada, Spain.
Cultural ADOLFO DOMINGUEZ Zaragoza, Spain.
Goyart Art Gallery Madrid, Spain.
PRIZES AND AWARDS
2011 Finalist work Prize Ciudad de Palencia of Artistic Creation.
2011 1st prize AEDAL (Asociación de Emprendedores de las Artes y las Letras)Valencia
2008 1st prize III prize “El primero del año”- Fariña Wineries-Toro, Zamora
2004 1st prize Figuración Núcleo Urbano- XIV Saló Internacional d’Arts
Plástiques Acea’s- Barcelona
2004 1st prize XXV Certamen Nacional de Pintura del Ayto. de Villanueva de
Villaescusa
Thank you Tomás for sharing your time with us.
Find more of his art here at
http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/tomas-castano.html
Photography
Marty Saccone
My photography is primarily directed toward the coastal remoteness of Down
East Maine especially its unique unexploited character which incorporates so well into
landscapes and seascapes.
My work include various still life studies, nautical themed subjects and
photographic portrayals in the natural environment
Long before the sun even lifts above the horizon the saturated intensity of the
light is not only stunning but often exceeds the beauty of the sunrise itself. Every sunrise
is different and unique at West Quoddy Head Lighthouse located at Quoddy Head State
Park, Lubec, Maine the eastern most peninsula on the United States mainland.
Camera Nikon D800E, 40mm f2.0 Voigtlander lens, 1/20 sec at f9.5, ISO 200,
manual mode on tripod
Silky velvet surf washes over pink granite rocks along the downeast coastline of
Quoddy Head State Park located in Lubec, Maine, United States.
Camera Nikon D300, 70 - 210mm f3.5 Nikkor lens with variable neutral density
filter, 2 seconds at f4, ISO 200, , manual mode on tripod.
View more of his work at
http://marty-saccone.artistwebsites.com/
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Kellie Troy
Kellie Troy was born in Melbourne Australia in 1970. She is an Equine
Photographer who has been in the Industry for almost two years.
My passion for horses has been alive since the time I could walk but my passion
for photography came to the surface a couple of years ago by accident while my daughter
was riding. I now have my own Equine Photography business, which seems to be
continually growing; I have pre-bookings up to eight months ahead of time.
My daughters riding instructor viewed some of the photos I had taken during a
lesson and asked me to come along and take some of her and her horse. She was so
pleased she shared her photos around and displayed them on Facebook.
I was then contacted by another rider who had seen her photographs (taken by
me) and wanted some of her. I came to her riding club rally where I took some photos of
many of the riders including her to find that everyone wanted to look at my work.
I had a few orders come in for photos and people insisting on paying for my
photography. Word started to spread, other clubs asked me to come along to their rallys,
and it just started to grow. From here, I was asked to be the official photographer at their
equestrian events, I accepted and my photos were a great hit I sold many.
In January 2013, I answered an advertisement asking for equine Photographers
who would be interested in joining the magazine Equine Excellence as Photographer
I was selected out of 10 applicants as magazine photographer for a trial. The
Editor Daphne Mc Neill loved my work and asked me to come on board with the
magazine Equine Excellence as Official Photographer.
I have been with them ever since. November 2013 Daphne launched a new
magazine called Equine Naturally, which I was also asked to become official
photographer. I accepted this position also.
My photography has taken off accidently but I am thoroughly enjoying my work
and have currently left my full time job, as I no longer have the time to dedicate to both
find more about her at
http://kellietroyphotography.fotomerchant.com
Book section
Harvesting the Dream
You need to THINK for
yourself... ...
A Philosophy for Everyday
Life. Relearning to think for
yourself instead of following the
crowd. Covers all aspects of
learning including training the
right side of the brain to be active.
Available at
Smashwords
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/72629
Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B4CPY22
Also available on Kobo , Barnes and Noble, Apple, Diesel and more
Love by Dawn
Blake January is escorting a young slave dealer to a fort when a young, feisty kid,
Casey Walsh attempts to free his prisoner and fails. When Blake discovers the kid is a
pretty girl, and the sister of his prisoner, he must now deal with two unwanted people.
But, as Blake journey's to the fort, he cannot ignore the attraction he feels for Casey.
Available at
Smashwords
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/404349
Also available on Kobo , Barnes and Noble, Apple, Diesel and more
Family Blessings
By Jen Selinsky
Maria was looking forward to this day, as it was very special to her. Not only was
it her birthday, but she was going to spend some time with her five-year-old
granddaughter, Jana. To some people, this may not sound extremely special, but that was
not the case with Maria and Jana.
When Jana was only one year old, she and her parents moved to Brazil. While
her parents were citizens of the United States for most of their lives, they liked their new
location, despite the fact that learning the Portuguese language was difficult. Jana,
however, being extremely bright, was able to pick up both Portuguese and English easily.
Maria had lived in this country all her life, and though she had recently retired,
she did not have much money for travel and extraneous expenses. And though Maria was
very content with the life she led, it made her a bit sad that she could not see her
granddaughter as often as she could. Today, however, she was not going to let such
negative thoughts into her head because she was going to the airport to meet her son and
his family! Just thinking of that warmed her heart.
It won’t be long now, Maria thought as she waited for her son, daughter-in-law,
and granddaughter to come out of the gate and greet her. Party preparations were being
held by Maria’s daughter, Elsie, who did not want her mother to have to lift a finger.
Elsie insisted on taking care of everything herself. That way, Maria could focus on all
the good things!
“Grandma!” Jana exclaimed as she made her way over to Maria. She wanted to
be the first one to greet her grandmother who had waited so patiently for their arrival.
When Jana reached her, she gave her a great big hug. Jana couldn’t wait to tell Maria all
about school and the new words that she was learning in Portuguese. Maria was very
proud of the fact that she had a grandchild who loved to learn!
“Jana, my darling!” Maria said as she enveloped the child in her arms. It felt so
good to hug be in her company again, as it was almost a year since their last visit. Still,
Maria would take any time that she could get with her treasured family.
After Jana decided that she wanted to share, she let her parents greet Maria. Don
hugged his mother and kissed her on the cheek.
“Happy Birthday, Mom,” he said, sensing the excitement which radiated from her
face. Her daughter-in-law, Beth, made the same motions as her husband. Maria hugged
Beth just as warmly as she did her son and granddaughter. Beth certainly felt blessed to
be included in a loving family such as theirs!
The four of them headed back to Maria’s house, where Elsie had just finished
with the decorations and place settings. Maria knew that her daughter was planning to
throw her a party, but she never imagined that she would go all out as much as she did.
The most beautiful thing was the cake, which had three layers and was decorated with a
white Scottish terrier, her favorite breed of dog!
While Maria loved getting the attention from everyone, including her best friend,
whom Elsie had invited as a surprise, she as overjoyed at the fact that she was going to
get to spend an entire week with Jana and her parents. Don was lucky in the respect his
company allowed a lot of time off for vacations.
The party was well underway when Jana really began talking about school and
how many things she was learning. She also wanted to teach her grandmother some
words that she’d learned and stories that she was told. Since Don made a lot of money as
a software designer, he could afford the best private school in the country for his
daughter’s education. He lived in an affluent part of the country, but he was aware of the
poverty all around. That’s why Don donated to charity whenever he could. He was
especially interested in seeing that other children had the bare essentials, including food,
clothing, and medicine. Don also wanted them to have the chance for a good education,
which the parents of so many children could not afford.
When it was time to cut the cake, Don went into the kitchen to retrieve Maria’s
biggest knife. As the birthday girl, she would receive the first slice! After receiving a
hearty chorus of “Happy Birthday,” Maria closed her eyes and blew out all sixty-six
candles on her cake to make a wish.
Once the party was over and everyone headed home, Don and Beth headed to the
living room to visit with Elsie. They both knew that their daughter wanted some private
time with her grandmother. Maria and Jana sat on the porch, looking out at the night sky
as the warm air caressed them. Daisy, Maria’s pet terrier, was seated Maria’s lap.
“Today was sure a great day, huh, Grandma?” Jana asked excitedly.
“It certainly was,” Maria replied with a smile on her face. She couldn’t possibly
be anymore happy than she was right now!
“I guess Mommy and Daddy will go to bed soon.”
“I guess so too, maybe we will join them in a while.” Jana looked over at her
grandmother and up at the sky. Normally, her parents had to coax her into bed at this
time, but Jana was tired after all the excitement of today. Her little eyelids were getting
heavy.
“You got a lot of gifts today!” Maria smiled at her granddaughter. She was
certainly blessed because of everyone who loved and cared for her—God first and
foremost!
“I certainly did,” Maria replied, her heart warm with thoughts of her loved ones.
“But you know what the most special gift is?”
“What’s that?” Jana replied.
“The fact that I get to share this very special day with you!” Maria looked over at
her granddaughter who smiled back at her.
“I love you, Grandma!”
“I love you too, darling,” Maria said at the two of them hugged. This was a
perfect ending to a perfect day. Maria’s wish had come true!
Find more of her books here at
http://www.amazon.com/Jen-Selinsky/e/B00EOJU2AG/
------------------------------------------------------------
Thought Food
Holographic Mind
By James Blanchette
Is what you see and touch real?
You are connected to the world by your senses but is that merely a projection of
reality?
In 1982, physicist Alain Aspect, performed an exciting experiment, probably one
of the most important of the 20th century.
Aspect discovered that under certain circumstances subatomic particles are able to
instantaneously communicate over vast distances. The distance doesn’t matter if it’s a
few feet, or billions of miles. This of course violates Einstein, who contends that
communication cannot travel faster than the speed of light. This finding contradicts that
theory entirely.
More experimental data was necessary, to prove the validity of this claim. David
Bohm believes that Aspect’s findings imply that objective reality does not exist. Solidity
is an illusion caused by a gigantic detailed hologram.
You have to understand what a hologram is to understand the basis of this
particular assertion.
Loosely described a holograms of three-dimensional photograph made with the
aid of lasers. Making a hologram is fairly simple, the object photograph is based in light
of the laser beam and then a second laser beam is bounced off the reflected light of the
first and the resulting interference pattern is captured on film.
The film itself looks more like a swirl of light and dark lines. Nothing very
remarkable at all, however, as soon as another laser eliminates the film, a threedimensional image of the object pops out. Further to note, if you cut the hologram film in
half, the projected image is still complete although smaller. It seems that the holograph
contains all of the information about that particular object.
Let’s postulate on this particular premise for a minute. What is being suggested?
The theory behind it says that the representation of the universe that we see is merely a
hologram of two-dimensional space. Both sides hotly debate this. One side says that they
have proved that this particular theory is flawed and without merit. The other side of
course contends that this theory is valid and seeks experimental data to prove their
claims.
Such is the way of science. Einstein’s theories were originally rejected throughout
history this is been the case from the early philosophers to the present. Theories have
abounded on any and all subjects. What you have to understand is that a theory is just
that, a theory.
We are working with very little facts here, however the fact remains that two
particles can interact over vast distances.
Illustrative to the concept, is that if you have an aquarium with a single fish in it,
then you can view that fish from any given angle. Now we set up two cameras at different
angles to the same fish tank and then display the results of both cameras. Now you’ll find
something interesting. The effect is simple: you are viewing the same fish from different
angles giving you different viewing results, almost making it appear that you have two
separate fish, where in fact you have simply one. The basis of the universe being a
hologram is similar to this approach; it states that there isn’t really too particles you are
observing, but one particle from different angles.
Neuroscience has also looked into a novel approach studying the human brain.
Stanford neurophysiologist Carl Pribram has also become convinced of the holographic
nature to reality. To understand part of that, we have to go back a few years, to 1920. A
brain scientist named Carl Lashley discover that the matter what portion of brain he
removed to eradicate its memory perform complex tasks that it had already learned prior
to the surgery, the memory still remained.
Pribram believes memories are not encoded in the neurons themselves, or even
small groups of neurons, but in the pattern of nerve impulses that crisscross the entire
brain, similar to the laser light interference of a holographic image. He suggests that the
brain itself is a hologram.
On a computer when you looking for a particular file, you set up the search
criteria and begin the search. The length of time it takes to conduct the search depends on
many factors. These factors can include the size of the hard drive being searched, the
number of files on that hard drive, the speed of the processor and other factors. It is not
an instantaneous search at all.
The brain on the other hand in most cases, can provide an instant answer.
It is been suggested, experimentally, that the human brain has a capacity to
memorize 10 billion bits of information during an average lifetime. Holograms can also
process an astounding amount of information. By changing the angle at which the two
lasers strike a piece of photographic film, it is possible to record multiple images on the
same surface It is also has been demonstrated that a cubic centimeter piece of film can
hold 10 billion bits of information.
It seems the nature of our reality is now more complex than ever thought before.
With all the understandings we have of the nature of our world, our reality; we possess a
minor fraction of knowledge. The main reason most things remain a theory instead of
fact.
Philosophy has been around for thousands and thousands of years. At one point in
time, it was possible to know everything that was known. This is not been available for a
very long time now. Each advance in science alone puts you into the unknown. Even
experts in a given field still only know a fraction.
Whether or not our universe is a holographic projection, makes little or no
difference to the average person. It makes little or no difference, to the average scientist.
It’s a consuming factor for those very few attempting to extract the experimental data and
prove their conclusions.
What makes it food for thought is a simple premise. You can’t prove reality under
any circumstances. You merely accept reality as being real.
Proving existence and reality will be a subject of another time, however, suffice it
to say that reality is merely a construct. Your amazing brain, sorts, catalogs and provides
a semblance of reality.
Your connection to the outside world is through a series of senses. Vision, touch,
sound all contribute to the construction of your particular reality.
You exist in this particular universe as a basic form of energy. When you break it
all down, 99.9999% of you is empty space. On atomic level, nothing is truly connected in
a way that we understand solidity. You have electrons in the neutrons cruising around the
nucleus of an atom at a very high rate of speed. Science in its wisdom still cannot
comprehend the actual mechanisms involved for keeping them intact. We can describe
them, show what they do and understand them in a very basic way. Similar to electricity,
which we use on a daily basis, we don’t really know what it is and how it functions in its
entirety.
We know that in our version of reality, everything appears to be solid, when in
fact it’s not. Having a holographic matrix can then also be considered a possibility. It is
not anymore a far-fetched concept than anything other theory out there.
Our understanding of the universe is just as limited as our understanding of the
human brain.
Whether or not, we operate as a holographic matrix, the human brain does some
remarkable things. It takes in mass quantities of data, processes that and presents us with
solutions, most of which we never pay attention to. In the simple act of reading these
words, your processing mass quantities of data. The data then translates to something that
you can perceive and understand. At its finest point, it is merely a collection of dots that
your brain interprets to be words and then gives the words meaning.
The way that this is all done suggests that indeed a holographic matrix would
make more sense than a linear progression of neurons.
We have two sides to our brain, the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere.
These cooperate in a bizarre fashion. The left brain has been suggested to be more
analytical, whereas the right brain is more artistic and concerned with shapes and color.
All things considered, they don’t look like they cooperate that well.
Co-operation becomes a bizarre form…the Eureka moment, understanding and
getting an answer from nowhere. That would seem to be a left brained in full functioning
mode. However, it is not. The right brain has taken over the abstract qualities of thought
and produces the actual answer.
Ideas are pooled from every part of the brain to produce that given moment, that
clear understanding, the Eureka moment.
Time factors alone would suggest that we have a hologram working for us.
Whether or not the universe is a holographic representation of a 2-D universe, is a
moot point, because we perceive what we do perceive and care about what we care about.
Physicist will debate the issue about the nature of the universe. Neurologists will debate
about the human brain. Normal people will just live their lives and most will be oblivious
to the science involved.
Coming up in our Next Issue
Interview with Emma Style
Articles on Smashwords and Facebook
Some great short stories
And Much Much More
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