tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25495274475299029732024-03-14T00:55:56.927-07:00Existentialist ManA look at all things existential from Crime, Thriller Fiction in Novels, Films as well as Music and their link to realityAli Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.comBlogger176125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-43078242709186024022019-05-24T04:36:00.000-07:002019-05-24T08:58:57.376-07:00“You know Florence?”<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7u9q3j_LJ98/XOfVOJsh-hI/AAAAAAAADgc/HRzf4nFLRewqV7RNjlBMWhWE9W_Sq0miwCLcBGAs/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="1600" height="220" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7u9q3j_LJ98/XOfVOJsh-hI/AAAAAAAADgc/HRzf4nFLRewqV7RNjlBMWhWE9W_Sq0miwCLcBGAs/s640/2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Clarice Starling: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘Did
you do those drawings, Doctor?’</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Dr Hannibal Lecter: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘Ah.
That is the Duomo seen from the Belvedere. You know Florence?’<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Clarice Starling: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘All
that detail just from memory?’</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Hannibal Lecter: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘Memory,
Agent Starling, is what I have instead of a view.’</i><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Thomas
Harris / The Silence of the Lambs [1998] <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">A few months ago, my wife suggested we go to Italy,
specifically Florence for a little break, just the two of us. This Tuscan city
was mentioned because she has always wanted to view the paintings in the Uffizi
Gallery, and wander through the city, viewing the historic architecture. She is
also aware of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15634889.Ali_S_Karim">my interest</a>
in exploring the place where Thomas Harris set a significant part of his 1999
novel <a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2006/11/dr-lecter-i-presume_04.html">HANNIBAL</a>.
Florence is where his character Dr Hannibal Lecter fled after his escape from
Baltimore at the close of 1988’s <a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.com/2012/08/ali-karims-silence-to-die-for-silence.html">THE
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS</a>, taking on the disguise of <a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.com/2019/04/i-do-not-like-thee-dr-fell.html">Dr
Fell</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Though she has grown irritated at my recent obsessive
behaviour, related to my fascination with a novel <a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.com/2019/05/cari-mora-by-thomas-harris.html">released
last week</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">She said last night as I was reading aloud a scene
from Thomas Harris’ 6<sup>th</sup> novel - “<i>It’s getting tiresome, all you
ever talk about is <a href="https://januarymagazine.com/wp/crime-fiction-cari-mora-by-thomas-harris/">Cari
Mora, by Thomas Harris</a>.”</i> Continuing <i>“You carry that bloody book
around with everywhere, quoting from it to anyone who passes by, it’s mental
and driving me insane; and it’s not the first time, and is not normal, it’s
weird.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Florence
apart from being the hiding place of Dr Hannibal Lecter (a setting in Thomas
Harris’ 4<sup>th</sup> novel Hannibal), also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/shortcuts/2018/dec/18/stendhal-syndrome-botticelli-the-birth-of-venus">lends
its name to a ‘condition’</a>, one that some appear to suffer from: when a piece
of ‘art’ resonates within them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I
should know, as I suffer from </span></span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Florence Syndrome</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> [aka </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stendhal_syndrome" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Stendhal
Syndrome</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">]. Sometimes a piece of writing, music or art resonates so deeply
within me, it’s like the peal of a bell, chiming within, so my thoughts become trapped, as
my mind focuses only of that piece of art, again, again, again, especially triggered
by evocative writing, thought-provoking narratives - like my </span>current<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> obsession with </span></span><a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-silence-of-book-reviewer.html" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cari
Mora</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I was
in a sort of ecstasy, from the idea of being in Florence, close to the great
men whose tombs I had seen. Absorbed in the contemplation of sublime beauty ...
I reached the point where one encounters celestial sensations ... Everything
spoke so vividly to my soul. Ah, if I could only forget. I had palpitations of
the heart, what in Berlin they call 'nerves'. Life was drained from me. I
walked with the fear of falling.</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">”</span></i></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">French
author </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Stendha<span style="color: #0b0080;">l</span><span style="color: #222222;"> (pseudonym of Marie-Henri Beyle)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.theflorentine.net/art-culture/2013/02/through-stendhals-eyes/">Who
described his experience</a> in 1817 with his work <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Naples and Florence: A Journey from Milan to Reggio</span></i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">” where he was overcome</span> with profound
emotion at what he experienced in the art that spoke to him, in Florence. <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lP_rczOFOxY/XOfVU26zHVI/AAAAAAAADgg/sjItCtEyDh06mzU1e-K4C_EydMLm7jEsgCLcBGAs/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="1600" height="356" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lP_rczOFOxY/XOfVU26zHVI/AAAAAAAADgg/sjItCtEyDh06mzU1e-K4C_EydMLm7jEsgCLcBGAs/s640/1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It gave rise to the term </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Hlk9572277" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b><i>Stendhal Syndrome</i></b>, or </a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stendhal_syndrome" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b><i>Florence Syndrome</i></b></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">- a psychosomatic condition involving rapid heartbeat, dizziness,
fainting, confusion and even hallucinations, allegedly occurring when
individuals become </span><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/in-excess/201403/having-art-attack" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">exposed
to objects or phenomena of great beauty</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I pass an apology to those I
have annoyed with my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Stendhal-like </i>utterings
about the <a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.com/2019/05/cari-mora-by-thomas-harris.html">sixth
novel by Thomas Harris</a>. This weird feeling lingers inside me, like it does
whenever I have been exposed to a piece of art, music or writing that for some
reason resonates, plaguing my mind. It gives me a racing heart; I feel dizzy, faint
and plagued by nightmares whenever this occurs. It is also exhilarating, and I get
affected by varying degrees, from the literature, art and music, that speaks to
me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">When it does, <a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2007/12/case-of-grand-larsson.html">I become
obsessive</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">My personal Stendhal Syndrome
is always at a zenith, an apex, whenever <a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.com/2019/05/that-was-then-this-is-now.html">I
read a new novel by Thomas Harris</a>, or listen to his voice narrate his own
work; narratives acted out in his native Mississippi twang, that becomes a ‘southern
gothic’ that makes me think so very, very deeply, haunting my conscious and subconscious
mind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I am so very sorry if I have annoyed you, with my love of Cari Mora and the <a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2007/08/lecter-under-scrutiny.html">writings
of this author</a> who I have followed since I was a clueless 17-year old.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It has never been my intention
to annoy, as I mean no harm – sorry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xxSiwXxQXEo/XOfVd2Wa7jI/AAAAAAAADgk/Q5Jzcr9xRYcMLEqH5h07rND8cnjmEiyYACLcBGAs/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xxSiwXxQXEo/XOfVd2Wa7jI/AAAAAAAADgk/Q5Jzcr9xRYcMLEqH5h07rND8cnjmEiyYACLcBGAs/s640/3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“We
don’t invent our natures...they’re issued to us along with our lungs and<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Pancreas
and everything else.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Dr Hannibal Lecter,
speaking to Will Graham<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Thomas
Harris / Red Dragon [1981] <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-9041062151254308872019-05-22T10:36:00.000-07:002019-05-22T12:52:05.933-07:00That was ‘then’, this is ‘now’ <br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qqj13ATJ4yI/XOWDn9OSI8I/AAAAAAAADe0/DC8YJ6msR50ZoqecEXj_ftz0-AHYi37qQCLcBGAs/s1600/now%2B5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="977" data-original-width="1600" height="390" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qqj13ATJ4yI/XOWDn9OSI8I/AAAAAAAADe0/DC8YJ6msR50ZoqecEXj_ftz0-AHYi37qQCLcBGAs/s640/now%2B5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I was admiring my new set of <a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.com/2012/08/ali-karims-silence-to-die-for-silence.html">backlist
Thomas Harris novels</a>, featuring Dr Hannibal Lecter, just re-issued with
stunning Artwork from the Arrow paperback Imprint of PenguinRandomHouse to
coincide with the release in Hardcover of Thomas Harris’ sixth novel, Cari Mora.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SoDwhcqSicM/XOWERbpv3VI/AAAAAAAADfI/6TMk44vDJA8pZ-j6tyLT724j0kJAfn59QCLcBGAs/s1600/then.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="991" data-original-width="1600" height="396" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SoDwhcqSicM/XOWERbpv3VI/AAAAAAAADfI/6TMk44vDJA8pZ-j6tyLT724j0kJAfn59QCLcBGAs/s640/then.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I thought also of conversations
with my Father, who was always amused at my interest in this character, the deranged
psychiatrist from Johns Hopkins Baltimore. Though now retired, my Father was a
former psychiatrist – hence his amusement. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media;
gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/djAhwNzf8Qs" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I have been having a rather surreal
time lately. Firstly, after weeks of sitting on my hands, thanks to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-bush-5a2aa93/?originalSubdomain=uk">Charlotte
Bush of PenguinRandomHouse</a> who kindly allowed me [<a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2010/05/forshaw-tackles-larsson-phenomenon.html">and
a few others</a>] an early read [coupled to a non-disclosure agreement].<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0dlTBJJwwe0/XOWEc-WRwEI/AAAAAAAADfM/YKxhbxMzMu0pxb6Xui9QkStQGD0LnFR7QCLcBGAs/s1600/now.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="948" data-original-width="1600" height="378" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0dlTBJJwwe0/XOWEc-WRwEI/AAAAAAAADfM/YKxhbxMzMu0pxb6Xui9QkStQGD0LnFR7QCLcBGAs/s640/now.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I have finally been able to speak
about Thomas Harris’ sixth novel Cari Mora last week in </span><a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.com/2019/05/cari-mora-by-thomas-harris.html" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">London
on 16<sup>th</sup> May 2019</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> for UK and Ireland, and May 21</span><sup style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">st</sup><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
2019 in North America / Canada. It was amusing to see Thomas Harris’ sixth
novel appear on the European side of the Atlantic, before it was released in
the author’s native continent.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Prior to release my anticipation was visible <a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.com/2019/05/cari-mora-by-thomas-harris.html"><span style="color: #888888;">HERE</span></a>, <a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-silence-of-book-reviewer.html"><span style="color: #888888;">HERE</span></a> and <a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.com/2019/04/i-do-not-like-thee-dr-fell.html"><span style="color: #888888;">HERE</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Due to the enforced silence until I could
publicly review Thomas Harris’ new book last week, I have become rather vocal,
as to my sheer joy at the new novel. Some may consider that I have going a tad
mental, <a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2007/12/case-of-grand-larsson.html">a tad
all Stieg Larsson</a> and perhaps I have, as <a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.com/2012/08/ali-karims-silence-to-die-for-silence.html">my
enthusiasm for Thomas Harris’ narrative skills</a> knows no perimeter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">They say anyone who was alive on 22<sup>nd</sup>
November 1963, the day John F Kennedy was murdered in Dallas, remembers what
they were doing and where they were at that moment, when those shots were fired.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As nutty as it may sound, I know
where I was, who I was and the context of my life when a new novel by </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/nov/19/fiction.thomasharris" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thomas
Harris</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> was released; apart from 1975’s Black Sunday, which missed my radar
at that time. I was twelve and clawing my way through </span><a href="http://www.ianfleming.com/bluebird-bluebird-attica-locke/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ian Fleming</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">,
Alistair Maclean, </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiller" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Adam Hall</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">,
Desmond Bagley, Hammond Innes, </span><a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2008/12/book-you-have-to-read-coffin-for.html" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Eric
Ambler</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and all those myriad British Thrillers that The Talented Mr Mike Ripley
so amusingly and informatively recounted in his book </span><a href="https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/9780008172251/kiss-kiss-bang-bang/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">KISS
KISS BANG BANG</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, now available as a paperback, with more info </span><a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.com/2017/05/mike-ripleys-kiss-kiss-bang-bang.html" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">HERE</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I was a clueless
17-year-old kid in 1981 buying <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">RED
DRAGON</b> by <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Thomas Harris</b> in
Hardcover purely on Stephen King’s recommendation, from of all places the <a href="https://spckpublishing.co.uk/">SPCK</a>, Chester [surreally a Christian
Book-group]. Immediately after reading it three times back-to-back, I tracked
down <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">BLACK SUNDAY</b> by <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Thomas Harris</b>, a paperback edition, a
film-tie from Earl’s Eye Books, a second-hand bookstall in Chester market I
frequented and traded books in my youth. I enjoyed Black Sunday, though it was
a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">workman-like </i>thriller, but as a
debut it was a portent for what would follow. It dates back from the days when
Harris and two colleagues worked as journalists for The Associated Press. Rumour
has it that the advance was split three ways, but it was Thomas Harris who actually
did the writing as well as the typing for the novel. It was the <a href="https://youtu.be/EolqMkHyVuI">film option</a> that allowed Thomas Harris
to escape Journalism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I was
aged 25, a marine chemicals surveyor in 1988. At London Heathrow I screamed,
spotting an ‘early / advance’ copy of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.com/2012/08/ali-karims-silence-to-die-for-silence.html">THE
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS</a></b> by <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Thomas
Harris</b> in the airport bookstore. It was my second trip to the Arabian Gulf
(for a six-week tour of duty). That novel made the flight to the Middle East so
memorable, as well as that six-week tour of duty, where I read the novel four
times [back-to-back]. The last time I recall finishing it; I was resting on the
deck of a Chemical Tanker berthed on a jetty in the Arabian Gulf. As dawn broke
I watched the Sun emerge from the horizon, just as Starling read the letter from
Dr Lecter about Orion, which closed the novel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Just
before the Millennium, I was 36 and working for a German Chemical Engineering
company. I queued at </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/nov/19/fiction.thomasharris">Maxim
Jakubowski’s MurderOne in Charing Cross</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">, London
on 7-8th June 1999, with a hotel Room Booked, and a bottle of Amarone waiting
for <b>HANNIBAL</b> by <b>Thomas Harris</b>. <a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2006/11/dr-lecter-i-presume_04.html">I was
the first in the queue</a>, for this book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In 2006,
I was 43 and under a huge burden setting up a complex business that was in its
infancy. I recall those difficult years. My readings of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2006/12/making-of-monster_10.html">HANNIBAL
RISING</a></b> by <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Thomas Harris</b> helped
me cope with the adverse camber of setting up a business, and watching it so
very closely, because a business is like a flower, it can be crushed or wilt
without close, close management especially in those early days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In 2008, I
contributed to an academic book,<a href="https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/dissecting-hannibal-lecter/"> “Dissecting
Hannibal Lecter, a collection of essays on the novels of Thomas Harris”,</a> edited
by <a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2008/06/finding-appeal-in-horrific.html">Benjamin
Szumskyj</a> and published by McFarland Press.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">During </span><a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2010/07/recapturing-crimefest.html" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Crimefest
2010</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, I was one of four competing in the Criminal Mastermind, and chose The
Novels of Thomas Harris as my specialist topic – giving me a valid excuse to
re-read the five [at the time] novels by the author, </span><a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2010/07/recapturing-crimefest.html" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Click
Here</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> to see what happened. </span><a href="http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/book_reviews_view.aspx?book_review_id=2119" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Martin
Edwards</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> unsurprisingly won [again] with Peter Guttridge and I joint runners-up
and poor </span><a href="http://carablack.com/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cara Black</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> was in the rear, as her
specialist topic </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">‘French Crime Novels’</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
was far too broad a church.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In 2013,
I helped Barry Forshaw [with a little background material] for his excellent
book on <a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-devil-and-barry-forshaw.html">THE
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, part of the Devil’s Advocate series</a>, which coincided
with the release of the 25<sup>th</sup> Anniversary edition of that
extraordinary book from Thomas Harris – <a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-devil-and-barry-forshaw.html">CLICK
HERE</a> for more information. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In 2019, I
will turn 56, and </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thomas Harris</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> has
published his 6</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> novel entitled </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">CARI MORA</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">. I was very fortunate to have an early reading, though
having to sign a legal agreement not to publish a review until after Midnight on
Thursday 16</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 2019, the day of its release in the UK and Ireland by </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Heinemann" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">William Heinemann</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - one
of the oldest and most respected publishing imprints in Great Britain, part of
the PenguinRandomHouse conglomerate.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QLjJ6nW2ZGE/XOWF65nYngI/AAAAAAAADf0/12wBW0_xmywwf53Sf9ocGp5dfhsYkQzigCLcBGAs/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1044" data-original-width="1600" height="416" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QLjJ6nW2ZGE/XOWF65nYngI/AAAAAAAADf0/12wBW0_xmywwf53Sf9ocGp5dfhsYkQzigCLcBGAs/s640/8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I could
go on and on, but moving to 2019, Mike Stotter kindly edited my enthusiastic
review of the Cari Mora British Edition </span><a href="http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/book_reviews_view.aspx?book_review_id=2205" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">HERE</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
for Shots Magazine, and Jeff Pierce kindly edited my review of the US edition
of Cari Mora </span><a href="https://januarymagazine.com/wp/crime-fiction-cari-mora-by-thomas-harris/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">HERE</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
for January Magazine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I have
been reading varying commentary about Cari Mora; much revolving around comparisons
to 1981's RED DRAGON and 1988's THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, [though little
mention is made of 1999's HANNIBAL or 2006's HANNIBAL RISING]; Perhaps, the
first two novels to feature Dr Hannibal Lecter remain at the summit of the
Crime / Horror Genre in the opinion of many, including my own - so it is
natural to compare.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Particularly
interesting are commentary from </span><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/a2ac225e-7273-11e9-bf5c-6eeb837566c5" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Barry Forshaw
in the FT</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, </span><a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/cari-mora-review-thomas-harris-s-frustrating-inconsequential-collection-1.3885232" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">John
Connolly</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> in the Irish Times, as well as from Marcel Berlins and John Dugdale
in Saturday’s THE TIMES and THE SUNDAY TIMES [respectively]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Though I
have affection for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/nov/19/fiction.thomasharris">Hannibal
and Hannibal Rising</a> but not to deride or compare them to the two novels
that preceded them. Like a parent we love our children, each for different
reasons, rationalizations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I sometimes
quote Francis Dolarhyde [from Thomas Harris’ RED DRAGON] who sent a letter to
Freddy Lounds of The National Tatler, signing it as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">'Avid Fan'</i>. When it comes to the writings of Thomas Harris, that
term <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Avid Fan</i> does makes me smile. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Though I
have issues with his debut, BLACK SUNDAY, a workman-like thriller, and a good
calling card, while he worked with two others at the Associated Press<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sunday_(1977_film)">, the film option</a>
being his way to exit journalism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">And I
stand resolute in my admiration of his 6th Novel, the weird and terrifying CARI
MORA, and as a caveat, would say, with regard to RED DRAGON and THE SILENCE OF
THE LAMBS - "that was then", and as for CARI MORA, "this is
now".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">For those
who write vivid and thought-provoking prose drawn from the darkest wells of the
imagination, and find interest in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘The
Weird’</i> - will find resonance in these words from Harris.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“You must
understand that when you are writing a novel you are not making anything up.
It's all there and you just have to find it.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">CARI MORA
is written by a person who takes his craft, writing prose, exceedingly
seriously, and his 6th novel is a very different book, to those that preceded
it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zeKqD2g9-ic" width="560"></iframe></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
bottom line, for me is that I loved it so very, very dearly and still do,
applauding the authors audacity so hard, that my palms became red, but they
have now turned crimson.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But you
make up your own mind, but remember the dark excesses it contains, the black
humour is in terms of its narrative artistry, because the 'beauty' or 'horror' always
resides in the eye of the beholder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“The
exposition of Atrocious Torture Instruments could not fail to appeal to a
connoisseur of the worst in mankind. But the essence of the worst, the true
asafoetida of the human spirit, is not found in the Iron Maiden or the whetted
edge; Elemental Ugliness is found in the faces of the crowd.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Thomas
Harris, Hannibal [1999]<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><b><i><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZHQSViS4uBs" width="560"></iframe></i></b></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">And what
can this novel CARI MORA signal about our own natures?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">For
little has changed from when we resided in caves, to the draw of the coliseum
back at the times of gladiatorial games in Rome, to watching John Wick 3 today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">One thing
I can state, is that despite your opinion, Thomas Harris' writing ability is in
mine - extraordinary, and at times so very scary, as he holds a mirror to our
faces, and our inner fears and worries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media;
gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VKSOYYhNh9U" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">For a
rare and insightful interview with Thomas Harris, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/18/books/thomas-harris-new-book.html">Click
HERE</a> for the recent New York Times feature. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Regards,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Avid Fan<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Footnotes<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">If you’ve
never read Thomas Harris’ THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, RED DRAGON, HANNIBAL, or HANNIBAL
RISING then the new paperbacks from Arrow, [PenguinRandomHouse] with the beautiful
new covers, are a great place to start, scroll to the bottom of <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/1018678/thomas-harris.html">THIS LINK</a>
for more information on securing them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">And more
information from Publisher Jason Arthur of William Heinemann recorded <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVmOu9Uvoo4">HERE</a> and embedded below
in a six-minute clip filmed in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">angular
gonzo-vision</i>, of the launch last week at Goldsboro Books London > <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media;
gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QVmOu9Uvoo4" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Part of the launch included details of a
nationwide Treasure Hunt, for Gold Bullion, mirroring the narrative of Cari
Mora – the prize being a unique ‘Gold’ Edition of the Thomas Harris novel –
details from The Bookseller <a href="https://www.thebookseller.com/news/treasure-hunt-launches-one-gold-edition-thomas-harris-thriller-1007131"><span style="color: #888888;">HERE</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media;
gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RtCzWt6diuE" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">And finally I highly recommend the audio narrated
versions by Thomas Harris from <a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.com/2019/04/a-word-in-your-ear.html">Audible</a>,
with RED DRAGON, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, and HANNIBAL being abridgments,
while HANNIBAL RISING and CARI MORA are Unabridged. Because of the gothic
nature of these books, Thomas Harris US Southern Accent, and his talent to act
the roles makes them a unique experience, one that decorates your mind. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WiS3oexWybA/XOWDu1ef1yI/AAAAAAAADe4/TAOFCMB6h_IW6JpvXmQuaJwCNU0Pa4QwwCLcBGAs/s1600/now%2B6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1059" data-original-width="1600" height="422" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WiS3oexWybA/XOWDu1ef1yI/AAAAAAAADe4/TAOFCMB6h_IW6JpvXmQuaJwCNU0Pa4QwwCLcBGAs/s640/now%2B6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-59871586544085926242018-12-13T06:41:00.002-08:002018-12-13T06:41:59.871-08:00The Trick is Not Minding it Hurts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TWRyXwcAoEg/XBJtUcUH9RI/AAAAAAAADKM/6hnrqFh7NYwgr3ek0PwJWHMlO-4oAY3QQCLcBGAs/s1600/william%2Bpotter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1121" data-original-width="1516" height="472" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TWRyXwcAoEg/XBJtUcUH9RI/AAAAAAAADKM/6hnrqFh7NYwgr3ek0PwJWHMlO-4oAY3QQCLcBGAs/s640/william%2Bpotter.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%;">I have always admired The Outsider, or what Albert Camus called </span><span style="background: white; color: #545454; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">L'Étranger</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%;"> in his 1942 novel, the one that
was different to the rest of the herd – not unlike the Englishman TE Lawrence
eponymously of Arabia, or a young lady from India, who as a girl battled adversity
while schooled in America.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.5pt;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Priyanka Chopra was born in Bihar,
Northern India, where my own family originated from.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.5pt;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">At the age of thirteen, Priyanka
Chopra moved to the United States to study, living with her aunt, and attending
schools in Newton, Massachusetts, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after a stop in
Queens, New York, as her aunt's family also moved frequently.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">While in Massachusetts, she
participated in several theatre productions and studied Western classical
music, choral singing and Kathak dance.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">During her teenage years in the
United States, Chopra sometimes faced racial issues and was bullied for being
Indian by classmates.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.5pt;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">She has said, "I was a gawky
kid, had low self-esteem, came from a modest middle-class background, had white
marks on my legs ... But I was damn hard working. Today, my legs sell 12
brands."</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Sometimes it’s the ability to
overcome adversity that is the making of us, as is the fear that surrounds us
when we are children.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Read More ></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><a data-ft="{"tn":"-U"}" data-lynx-mode="async" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fen.m.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FPriyanka_Chopra%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0AoSd7D5q5XIRGCX4OIMWXBgF5O2HlyrLZFjuqsSs5-UA8CJ3uCxf_v9E&h=AT09-kmMK0R8v9xhAk_Py4J3tK1rb_nyOZkX4_2bvbuWoj-XxB-s9lghGAjtpkEPKuNcOux6z2jei0tLTaYTezwqaUmXMLJDYdnNaQCxOL1tAxuPbhgkzoZphABN28HfpfB4PVYVhH_4d1H6wR46cHlNXSAPD5nFaB_HZalYEN5nna2LVx6RdQN6JDRbwrdYdQk0xyA0J4XzQxSh7k4NQkiURtfYD0V9VWXZZKqxoOhGQBPP5raG2cYKt4BRESExHExGUPMLV8czc5Ij3ApU2upcEJpjE632gz35eTS1J_2iazJl_ekIcbqgJCQaKxFaFYqw7PDNHVuuVs-4Jp5xkfaHFjHFiID5vqbse8WtwghqGBAY1yn_mihDCMh5oRnyVP1vJcQM5svrhXt8-hykiD2QPC-CUAD2Z1OiDNgVG1lrMP7lHe2ZulwEfms655DQVrvGjFqe8wrDN4E8ZQuN6rnEn2IfqH8Rrhytcj5QTooDUfOsYkKuPyEOkZi7oI78tq033r7hUIb9jx2q28p58SKwjU6VF2ZhxVccFk555WrKvVG_pBHCkhNcpuSxTVTIUIY5VsdwhwAi5GZlsuIOZq-dG15JrLwI72kQlxjF1IWhvvd5sMElTLDnZsrte_Y9whmQ_lo_Z6U3" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #365899;">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priyanka_Chopra</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 150%;">For she overcame adversity and helped
others to face their fears, and troubles, as this video indicates. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="476" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FLifeStories.Goalcast%2Fvideos%2F2270477066504521%2F&show_text=0&width=476" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="476"></iframe>Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-72901783901899051672018-01-12T07:48:00.002-08:002018-01-12T09:22:20.948-08:00Peter May’s I’ll Keep You Safe<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mczvnZVdXUE/WljZc5w_fYI/AAAAAAAAC2g/_xjLosBwThQJYcp4b173G7gu3gILux_SQCLcBGAs/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1140" data-original-width="1509" height="482" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mczvnZVdXUE/WljZc5w_fYI/AAAAAAAAC2g/_xjLosBwThQJYcp4b173G7gu3gILux_SQCLcBGAs/s640/1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">January is always an
‘interesting’ month, for as a new year commences - we all trudge back to our
work, following our Christmas / New Year / Winter holidays.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Cognitively it can
be hard to mentally re-adjust after the extended break. For bibliophiles we
often look to our reading to keep us safe from the vagaries [and randomness] of reality with its dark
edges - as our thoughts from time to time create existential problems, as we
contemplate existence [……as worthy as this all sounds……].<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The last few years I
have found award-winning novelist <a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/back-to-island.html">Peter
May’s writing schedule</a> rather helpful, for he has launched <a href="http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/interview_view.aspx?interview_id=280">a new
work each January</a>. Peter’s writing is elegant, and for me a distraction
from existential problems, as his narratives are always deeply <a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/peter-mays-coffin-road.html">layered
with insight</a> and <a href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/features/forget-me-not-can-murderer-fail-remember-his-crime/">compassion</a>
that cuts through the darkness, and the gloom that comes packaged with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janus">two faces of Janus</a>.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7qcmYcRWu7Y/WljZkskuBoI/AAAAAAAAC2k/b9sjaQ347Egu6fWcrvdI4wrt28h7JUMHgCLcBGAs/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1600" height="342" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7qcmYcRWu7Y/WljZkskuBoI/AAAAAAAAC2k/b9sjaQ347Egu6fWcrvdI4wrt28h7JUMHgCLcBGAs/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So it was a delight
to join </span><a href="https://twitter.com/karenrobinsonst?lang=en" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Karen Robinson</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
of The Sunday Times, </span><a href="https://twitter.com/joncoates73?lang=en" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jon
Coates</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> of The Express, </span><a href="https://twitter.com/jakekerridge?lang=en" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jake
Kerridge</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> of The Telegraph with writer / literary commentators </span><a href="https://twitter.com/BarryForshaw3?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Barry
Forshaw</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and </span><a href="https://twitter.com/nicholasclee?lang=en" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Nick Clee</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
for lunch with </span><a href="https://twitter.com/authorpetermay?lang=en" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Peter May</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Peter May’s latest
work <a href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/peter-may/ill-keep-you-safe/">“I’ll
Keep You Safe”</a> sees a return to the Scottish Islands, like the work he’s
most renowned for, <a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/bbc-alba-on-trail-of-popular-lewis.html">The
Black House Trilogy</a>, which has garnered many international awards.
Reviewers and literary commentators often comment on the evocative nature of
the backdrop that May uses; making the location as vivid in the reader’s
imagination, as the author’s characters.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As Peter’s new work
“I’ll Keep You Safe” is released on 11th January 2018 in the UK and Ireland and
on March 16th 2018 in US from Quercus Publishing, we’ll share what readers have
in store; to help manage <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/26/movies/the-two-faces-of-january-from-a-highsmith-novel.html">The
Two Faces of January</a>.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qGVYNJwz3kE/WljZx4WIR5I/AAAAAAAAC2o/WZcMPQQVl2Q7kavo-4h9KblCi_6eFnD8QCLcBGAs/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1123" data-original-width="1512" height="473" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qGVYNJwz3kE/WljZx4WIR5I/AAAAAAAAC2o/WZcMPQQVl2Q7kavo-4h9KblCi_6eFnD8QCLcBGAs/s640/3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Husband and wife,
Niamh and Ruairidh Macfarlane have come a long way with their cloth company,
Ranish Tweed, from their small Hebridean home to the world of high fashion. But
on a business trip to Paris, cracks in their relationship start to appear. When
Niamh receives an anonymous email informing her of Ruairidh's affair, she is
distraught. Only hours later Ruairidh is killed by a car bomb, leaving Niamh’s
life in ruins. And when the police declare Niamh as the prime suspect in her
husband’s death, her life as she knows it ceases to exist. When Niamh is allowed back to her home on the
Isle of Lewis to return her husband's remains, she is followed by French
detective, Sylvie Braque. As Braque digs deeper into the couple’s relationship
and Niamh replays her life with Ruiairidh, distant memories resurface and past
feuds are reignited. As the past and present move closer together the two women
find themselves drawn to a killer who will not back down.</span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We should point out
the novel contains a very useful glossary of Celtic / Gaelic pronunciation to
assist the reader.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Peter’s readers will
be familiar with the high level of research that goes into his work, as well as
how prescient much of his imagination is, and he kindly provided some
background to his latest work –<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">THE DARK
WEB<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
relation to the criminal element of the story, I explored the so-called Dark
Web. This is the flip side of the
internet we all know and use. It is
where you will find society’s creepy-crawlies when you take a peek into the
shadows that lurk beneath. The Dark Web, however, is not really that dark. It is a collection of publicly visible
websites that hide the IP addresses of their servers. Anyone with a modicum of IT know-how can
access it by downloading a special anonymity browser called Tor. Suddenly you have access to sites selling
illegal goods and services in secure anonymity - child pornography, weapons,
drugs, and the services of hitmen.
Payment is made, again anonymously, with the use of Bitcoins whose
derivation and destination are untraceable.
Who knew it was that easy?<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">FORENSIC
TECHNOLOGY<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I delved
into the world of ground-breaking forensic technology, where newly developed
techniques allow investigators to recover fingerprints from bomb-blasted
particles. Previously both criminals and
investigators believed fingerprints were obliterated by bomb blasts. That was indeed the case with conventional
fingerprints. It meant that bomb-makers
were unconcerned about leaving fingerprints, on the basis they would be
destroyed anyway. However, a new type of
fingerprint has recently been discovered.
It is left by the oily residue of the fingers which when exposed to
extreme heat reacts chemically with metal, effectively etching itself invisibly
into the casing of a bomb. Undetectable by conventional procedures, these
fingerprints can now be recovered by applying a powerful electrostatic charge
to the piece under examination, then dusting it with a fine carbon powder. And bingo!
There is the fingerprint which had previously been so undetectable.<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
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<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-drBqVevABsI/WljaaoDzRvI/AAAAAAAAC28/FMYorr2ScWI8Qkff76iyGhxjWEToaXfQACLcBGAs/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1600" height="344" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-drBqVevABsI/WljaaoDzRvI/AAAAAAAAC28/FMYorr2ScWI8Qkff76iyGhxjWEToaXfQACLcBGAs/s640/4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">BODY
PARTS AND BURIAL</span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ruairidh’s
death in a car explosion means there is very little of him left to repatriate
for burial. I wanted to explore the
practicalities of this. A consultation
with my pathology adviser, Dr. Steve Campman, introduced me to the complex set
of international rules and regulations that govern the transportation of human
remains by commercial airlines. What was
left - a limited number of pieces of charred flesh and bone - would be vacuum
sealed in plastic bags following examination by a pathologist. A State-approved undertaker would supply the
requisite paperwork once he had sealed the bags in a leakproof container. Only
then would an airline accept the remains for transportation. These are the
awful practical mundanities in the aftermath of such a death, and I thought it
was important for Niamh to be seen dealing with the shock of them. There was also the question of burial when
the box was flown back to the island.
The French investigators would not allow it, but also there are no
crematoria in the Outer Hebrides. So I went to visit the only funeral director
on the Isle of Lewis, Alasdair Macrae. He suggested the tiny coffin containing
Ruairidh’s remains would be placed within a normal-sized coffin and braced to
prevent movement when the bearers carried it to the grave. I was also keen to
respect island tradition in my portrayal of the burial itself. When I first went to the islands nearly
thirty years ago, women did not go to the graveside and usually they would not
even take part in the procession.
However, I was fortunate on the day I went to the cemetery at Dalmore
Bay on the west coast of Lewis - where the burial was to take place in the book
- there was an actual funeral in progress.
I witnessed a rare occasion, where the female mourners led the
procession to the graveside carrying flowers, while the men followed on with
the coffin. It was perfect for the circumstances of the burial that I planned
to write, allowing me to break with island conventions describing events at the
cemetery. I watched with fascination as
the male mourners then picked up shovels to fill in the grave themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">LOCATIONS<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
research took me to numerous island locations, including the home of Harris
Tweed Hebrides at their Shawbost Mill; the independent mill at Carloway, only
recently rescued from closure; the Grimersta Estate, with its impressive
fishing lodge and complex water system. And of course the impressive Scottish
baronial castle at Amhuinnsuidhe on the Isle of Harris, where I stayed
overnight to absorb its distinctive and rarified atmosphere. On my final day on
the Isle of Lewis I visited a legendary location; a stone bothy built into the
cliffs of Mangersta, on the south-west of the island, by the parents of aid
worker Linda Norgrove who was kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan, and died
during a failed rescue attempt by US forces. The bothy rests perilously on a
ledge just below the top of towering cliffs of granite and gneiss that are
hundreds of feet high, standing resolute against the relentless assault of the
Atlantic.<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">PARIS<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My
location research also took me to Paris, around the Place de la République,
where only fifteen months earlier terrorists had rampaged through boulevards
and alleyways. The aftermath of those
attacks were still very much evident in the nightly gathering of armed police
and vehicles along one side of the square. I also visited the world famous
Paris cemetery, Père Lachaise, where I had the unsettling experience of coming
across a full-sized bronze figure on the grave of French journalist, Victor
Noir, who was shot dead in 1870 by Prince Pierre Bonaparte, the great nephew of
Napoleon. The reason I found it so unsettling was that the face of this figure
was the spitting image of myself as a young man.<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i>
<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gdetfK6x_d8/WljaiXZ7yfI/AAAAAAAAC3A/PElOn2z-egsn1IcDlNKeCgH6RYfVVSQlQCLcBGAs/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="1600" height="356" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gdetfK6x_d8/WljaiXZ7yfI/AAAAAAAAC3A/PElOn2z-egsn1IcDlNKeCgH6RYfVVSQlQCLcBGAs/s640/6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">INTERVIEWS</span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In a
search for authenticity I conducted in depth interviews. I had long conversations with the young
island entrepreneur, Iain Finlay Macleod, whose Breanish Tweed became the
inspiration for my fictitious Ranish Tweed. Gaelic actor and broadcaster, Derek
Murray, showed me the arcane world of teenage island boys who, by tradition,
steal the gates of their neighbours on Halloween. I also journeyed across the sodden moorland
of north-east Lewis to the remote ruins of a house and church built by a
pioneering baptist called John Nicholson.
I picked this as a crucial location in the book, where the denouement is
played out on its storm-lashed cliffs.
The ruins of Nicholson’s house are also the basis for the book’s iconic
cover image.<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">HARRIS
TWEED<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
closing it is worth noting Harris Tweed is the only cloth in the world to be
defined by Act of Parliament, and is described in the 1993 Act passed by the
Houses of Parliament in London, as “handwoven by islanders at their homes in
the Outer Hebrides, finished in the Outer Hebrides, and made from pure virgin
wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides”. All Harris Tweed must also be
examined by an inspector from the Harris Tweed Authority, and stamped with the
famous cross and orb once it is established it has met all legal criteria and
standards of quality. Through my connections with Harris Tweed Hebrides, I
gained access to Première Vision, the twice-yearly fabric fair in Paris.
Thousands of stalls are enclosed by lit plastic walls arranged in rows that
criss-cross, in the giant exhibition halls of the Parc d’Exposition. This vast
fair has cloth-makers from all over the world exhibiting their fabrics for
designers and manufacturers ahead of the seasonal fashion shows which will
determine what some people will be wearing in the spring or the autumn.<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And remember <a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/a-riverrun-past-peter-mays-cast-iron.html">Peter
May</a> commences the Promotional Tour shortly, and as he is a most amusing
raconteur, so we urge you to attend one of his events, not only to grab a copy
of his latest novel, but also to gain some insight into this author and listen
to his tales.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Full Tour
details are available by <a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/peter-may-2018-uk-tour.html">Clicking
Here</a><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I enjoyed finding
myself at lunch with Peter May and my bibliophile colleagues, who like Peter have
many amusing asides with anecdotes and reflections which are life affirming
when confronted by Janus. All of us are journalists, writers, commentators –
and so with a glass of wine in hand, there was much mirth over a fine lunch.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Though Barry Forshaw
made us all laugh like Hyenas when the topic of deadlines came up, something
that as writers we all fear. As apart from Peter May’s latest work, Barry
Forshaw has his Historical Noir coming shortly as does <a href="http://www.bookbrunch.co.uk/page/about-us/">Bookbrunch’s Nic Clee</a>
look at the literary award process.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C6rnIIhZmgo/WljaB7nLRiI/AAAAAAAAC24/T7_C97YZu7QLV5PviXNg3cTjRjV4Gy0fgCLcBGAs/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1470" height="488" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C6rnIIhZmgo/WljaB7nLRiI/AAAAAAAAC24/T7_C97YZu7QLV5PviXNg3cTjRjV4Gy0fgCLcBGAs/s640/2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">More information
about the work of </span><a href="http://www.ur-web.net/PeterMayMain/latest.htm" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Peter
May CLICK HERE</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">More information
about “The Booker and the Best” by <a href="http://www.barryforshaw.co.uk/the-booker-and-the-best-by-nicholas-clee/">Nicholas
Clee CLICK HERE</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">More Information
about “Historical Noir” by <a href="http://www.pocketessentials.co.uk/index1.php?imprint=2&isbn=&ebookid=1699">Barry
Forshaw CLICK HERE</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So after thanking
Jon Riley Publisher, and Hannah Robinson Publicist [Quercus Publishing], and of
course Sophie Ransom for an excellent lunch, where the laughter was as
infectious as Peter May’s anecdotes – we all headed back into a chilly London;
but were all energised, as only the company and laughter of Bibliophiles /
Raconteurs can provide when there are bottles of wine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Clutching my copy of
Peter May’s “I’ll Keep You Safe” – suddenly The Two Faces of Janus / January
didn’t feel as depressing as it did when the alarm clock sounded on the 2nd of
January.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You can get a copy
at a heavy discount from <b><a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Ill-Keep-You-Safe-Peter-May/9781784294939/?a_aid=janicehally">this
link</a></b> from the Book Depository, with free delivery worldwide.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7J_zBXKVT3k/WljZ7YDkFXI/AAAAAAAAC2s/bU_PoTzmIC8joln3mj1A57vefG_99F41QCLcBGAs/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="1600" height="178" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7J_zBXKVT3k/WljZ7YDkFXI/AAAAAAAAC2s/bU_PoTzmIC8joln3mj1A57vefG_99F41QCLcBGAs/s640/7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Photos © 2018 A
Karim [and Nicholas Clee]<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-88129175168673456822017-10-27T15:02:00.000-07:002017-10-28T00:40:06.880-07:00The use of dark humour to cope with the tragedy of existence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x8qs5UBWlMo/WfOseCIuK_I/AAAAAAAACzI/2vChzWxcvKgIp7XcxqpzMbjwAolSFP7LACLcBGAs/s1600/Dr%2BWho%2BLow%2BRes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x8qs5UBWlMo/WfOseCIuK_I/AAAAAAAACzI/2vChzWxcvKgIp7XcxqpzMbjwAolSFP7LACLcBGAs/s640/Dr%2BWho%2BLow%2BRes.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I
was fortunate to chat with Peter Capaldi last night at the 2017 CWA Dagger
Awards in London; but not about Dr Who, but about his portrayal of the Spin
Doctor from Hell - Mr Malcolm Tucker, a character created by writer Armando
Iannucci.</span><br />
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Malcolm
Tucker follows the British Tradition of making comedy from the grotesque, the
very odd and pompous, like Captain Mainwaring [Dad's Army], David Brent [The
Office], Alan Partridge, Leonard Rossiter's <span class="textexposedshow">Rigsby,
Frank Thornton's Captain Peacock, John Cleese's Basil Fawlty - to name some of
the most outrageous exaggerations of the Eccentric British Bloke.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Though
for me, Malcolm Tucker as played by Peter Capaldi is seated at the apex of the
absurd - sheer genius.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.5pt;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I
thanked Peter last night for making me laugh so loudly, so deeply, when i
watched the BBC "THE THICK OF IT", and the feature length film
version IN THE LOOP, which satirized the British / American special
relationship, and the commencement of the Iraq War.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.5pt;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Sometimes
comedy is how we cope with tragedy, and someone has put IN THE LOOP onto
Youtube, in HD - and the link is below [so if you want a deep belly laugh, as
well as understand how weird our world is, see link below]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.5pt;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">IN
THE LOOP is probably one of the greatest political satires, so brilliantly
written by Armando Iannucci, but how Peter Capaldi crafted Malcolm
Tucker......sheer absurd genius.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.5pt;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">ENJOY
- BUT A WARNING / IT CONTAINS BRITISH HUMOUR AT ITS MOST EXTREME, ESPECIALLY
LANGUAGE PROFANITY AND ABSURDITY<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.5pt;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Pater
Capaldi was amused when I told him, that my own vernacular and use of colorful
Anglo-Saxon expletives was heavily influenced by his portrayal of Malcolm
Tucker.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.5pt;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3yMZek8bRyM" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">And
as Brexit [UK leaving the EU] is in the opinion of many people [me included],
the supreme folly, a self-inflicted wound, economic &</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">bureaucratic hell - an
example of how some people can be manipulated with miss-information, lies and
pandering to base emotion, not logic - then in this very British tragedy I turn
to Armando Iannucci and to Malcolm Tucker as he debates <a href="http://www.nme.com/news/tv/armando-iannucci-malcom-tucker-return-alan-partridge-brexit-2148608">Brexit</a>
with an equally absurd creation of Iannucci - Mr Alan Partridge.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span>Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-24711307551832919152017-09-24T04:27:00.001-07:002017-09-29T10:07:17.298-07:00Remembering The Duomo, Florence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iem6h9KTUWc/WceVgdw_9hI/AAAAAAAACwc/lse_dQ9uE7EPNKS5H4UVFtUhhY6vk6RuACLcBGAs/s1600/top.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1138" data-original-width="1495" height="486" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iem6h9KTUWc/WceVgdw_9hI/AAAAAAAACwc/lse_dQ9uE7EPNKS5H4UVFtUhhY6vk6RuACLcBGAs/s640/top.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Some people
comment and query upon how come I have such a good memory. The older I get the
more important an active memory becomes, for memory is a critical aspect of
thinking, cognition, and therefore how we see the world. It also helps manage
(for me) the Anxiety of Existence; the randomness of 'Being' and combatting
negative, depressive and dangerous thinking.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The process
of cultivating a sharp and extensive memory is not easy, it requires effort and
an organisation of the thought processes. This effort, this cultivation, &
activation of 'Memory' not only requires the managed and lucid recall of 'good
& insightful' past events, but also the management of bad ones too. It also
requires constant maintenance, as well as an awareness of how the memories we
keep, morph and distort as we reflect, re-interpret as well as rationalise what
we construct as reality, our existence, and who we share it with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ultimately
memory also helps explain 'who we are' - by the context of our existence from
our memories.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SOj3rkrTHW8/WceWdiVlPSI/AAAAAAAACws/fPLcnSP3D3kPo7hlwAaibfCvikik_-IsQCLcBGAs/s1600/Dan%2Band%2B%2BMiram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="884" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SOj3rkrTHW8/WceWdiVlPSI/AAAAAAAACws/fPLcnSP3D3kPo7hlwAaibfCvikik_-IsQCLcBGAs/s640/Dan%2Band%2B%2BMiram.jpg" width="588" /></a></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I smiled many
years ago when I stumbled upon a book by Jonathan Spence, about </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Matteo Ricci. At the risk of emitting
a loud clanging name-drop; I came across this work from my correspondence with <a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/lecter-under-scrutiny.html">Thomas
Harris</a> many years ago, when I asked him about Dr Hannibal Lecter's ability
in drawing (with charcoal) <a href="https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-churches/duomo.html">The Duomo</a>
[<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">The <a href="https://youtu.be/k0FhLzafFqQ">Cattedrale
di Santa Maria del Fiore</a>]</span>, from Florence (from Memory as he didn't
have a window in his cell) while incarcerated in Baltimore. Harris told me that
Dr Lecter's Memory sprang from this book on Ricci, which he would later name
check in the footnotes of 1999's much misunderstood (and from some quarters
much maligned) HANNIBAL.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">This Sunday
morning the house is silent. My wife Muriel is at the Gym. Our eldest daughter
Sophia has gone into work of her own volition, as like all the Karims' - we
work hard. Our Son Alexander is in Malaysia to view the upcoming Grand Prix
with friends and our youngest daughter Miriam spends her first day at
University, in Hall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I am alone in
bed, with my thoughts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Last night we
hit traffic (Sophia, Muriel and I) returning back from moving our youngest
daughter to University. There were road closures, diversions, it was bad biff.
We argued in the car as we were tired and after a long and emotional day, we
were stressed leaving the youngest Karim to fend for herself in this weird
reality we share.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">At one point
while bypassing the Sat-Nav (which had gone rogue) Sophia said 'Dad you are
weird, you think weirdly' it made me silent as that observation made me ponder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Yesterday our
youngest daughter Miriam presented me with a gift from her recent travels in
San Francisco - as we ate a meal, part of the ritual families do when they
part, she passed me over a gift, a small square piece of plastic, with a
microchip embedded beneath the surface.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wvaBr4mBh4Y/WceV8KWNVTI/AAAAAAAACwg/r-TvLHWsdSIjQ_GoypDRiW1AXlZRJAazgCLcBGAs/s1600/main%2Btile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1359" height="528" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wvaBr4mBh4Y/WceV8KWNVTI/AAAAAAAACwg/r-TvLHWsdSIjQ_GoypDRiW1AXlZRJAazgCLcBGAs/s640/main%2Btile.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The gift was
a </span><a href="https://www.thetileapp.com/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">device called ‘Tile’</a><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> that links
your keys, IPhone to a computer. It attaches to your key-ring and has a button
that makes your phone ring if you've misplaced it, so you can find it. Miriam
said 'so it will help you, if your memory fails'</span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I smiled at
the word memory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Sure, I touch
my bulky key ring (which also acts as a defence tool) many times in the day,
feeling its comfort in my trouser leg (during the day) and now (thanks to
Miriam's gift) it can help me locate my IPhone, if I misplace it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The 'Tile
device' is small and attached to my key chain, so i feel the white plastic gift
from my Daughter all the time, and I mean all the time. So several times of the
day, I will think lucidly about our youngest Daughter Miriam Karim, because of
this 'Tile', now part of my defensive key ring - something I see and feel
throughout my 'conscious' day, as it comforts and is a tangible part of my
realty; and makes me think about Miriam when I see or feel it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Though Miriam
thought that she gave me a practical gift (from her vacation in San Francisco)
to ensure I always remembered my Iphone, but in reality it will be my way of
thinking about her every day, and several times, having the comfort that there
is in what we remember; in our Memory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I also have
items on my person, that remind me of my Wife, my Eldest Daughter, my Son as
well as my Mother, Father and two Brothers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">This memory
technique, the solidification of memory (the recall of days now passed) by
physical touch / association to provoke thought - (among other techniques) was
noted in the book that Jonathan Spence wrote, based on the life of Matteo
Ricci; the same book that <a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/the-devil-and-barry-forshaw.html">Thomas
Harris</a> told me about; the same book that helped him flesh out the character
of <a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2006/11/dr-lecter-i-presume_04.html">Dr
Hannibal Lecter</a> - his remarkable memory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">So as I
pondered upon the comment my eldest daughter Sophia said last night as we
battled traffic adversity 'Dad, you're 'Weird' and which my Wife added 'Yes,
you do think in a weird way' - I now smile, as I'm glad I think the way I do,
for with our thoughts, we make the world as Buddha once conjectured and Rene
Descartes confirmed, for 'I think, therefore I am'</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eXzvRzFmJIA/WceWQQLmIyI/AAAAAAAACwk/nRUZ4JMhQgAVdEGv3M1NqvnLol6nw7I7QCLcBGAs/s1600/london%2Bstandard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="960" height="358" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eXzvRzFmJIA/WceWQQLmIyI/AAAAAAAACwk/nRUZ4JMhQgAVdEGv3M1NqvnLol6nw7I7QCLcBGAs/s640/london%2Bstandard.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I like weird;
enjoy your Sunday, and perhaps some of us may purchase a charcoal stick and
draw an image, something that resonates, something from what we term a memory,
of a day now passed, perhaps of that Duomo, that </span><a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/ali-karims-silence-to-die-for-silence.html" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Dr
Fell</a><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> would later view after fleeing Baltimore - and perhaps we'll fold it
and place in our wallets, to remind us of the beauty contained in this world;
to protect our thoughts and distract them roaming over all that scares us in this
random and weird place.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<i><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">"Typhoid and Swans, Officer Starling, they come from the
same place" <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.5pt;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Dr
Hannibal Lecter, Baltimore, Maryland<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">More
information about THE MEMORY PALACE OF MATTEO RICCI by Jonathan D Spence
available <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/12/06/specials/spence-ricci.html">Here</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L7aArThRrZs/WceWXZ3ugfI/AAAAAAAACwo/uzyB1fAWgYMO8QZzPaEFE25v8eXoFf-FACLcBGAs/s1600/auot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="960" height="310" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L7aArThRrZs/WceWXZ3ugfI/AAAAAAAACwo/uzyB1fAWgYMO8QZzPaEFE25v8eXoFf-FACLcBGAs/s640/auot.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-73913404310928517822017-07-24T09:04:00.000-07:002017-07-24T09:25:35.326-07:00Gone Baby Gone <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“There are so many more
important things to worry about than how you're perceived by strangers.”</span></i><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">― </span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10289.Dennis_Lehane">Dennis Lehane</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I have some sad news, due to a personal decision I had to
take [several weeks ago] and one that makes me very sad - but first let me
share something that made me very happy this weekend, during this year’s Theakston’s
Crime-Writing Festival [hosted in the wonderful city of Harrogate in England].<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some know of my early championing of the writing of
Dennis Lehane back in the 1990s. I recall vividly the attention his 1994 debut <b><i>A
Drink Before the War</i></b> gathered including winning the Private Eye Writers
of America [PWA] Shamus Award for best PI Debut. But it wouldn’t be until his
second novel landed on my desk <b><i>Darkness Take My Hand</i></b> that I
realised that a writer of considerable power had arrived. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Incidentally his British Publishers at the time Bantam /
Transworld used the <i>‘as good as Thomas
Harris or your money back’</i> line as a marketing tool which first attracted my
attention to <b><i>Darkness Take My Hand.</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Incidentally, I spoke to Lehane about this remarkable
sophomore work, as well as the significance of titles in general a few years
ago –<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ali </span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <i>I
heard one of your earlier novels Darkness,
Take My Hand was originally titled </i></span><i><a href="http://gravetapping.blogspot.com/2007/07/jc-pollock-update.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Cold, Cold Heart</span></a></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> but you changed it because of a novel
with the same title by James Elliott [a pen name of </span><a href="http://gravetapping.blogspot.com/2008/08/j-c-pollock-update-2.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">J.C.
Pollock</span></a></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">]. Have you had other changes of title?</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dennis</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
<i>Yes, well spotted. I’ve had a few title
changes, for instance Shutter
Island I was originally going to title The Barrens, then I found out that </i></span><i><a href="http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/archive/26%20july%20reviews/the%20barrens.htm"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Joyce Carol Oates</span></a></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> had a book out with the same title. </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/books/18masl.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Given Day</span></a></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> was originally
going to be </span><a href="http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/A_Country_at_Dawn/0553814206/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
Country at Dawn</span></a></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, but I decided that
title sounded a little pretentious, however I discovered that The Given Day has been published
in several countries under that title, such as France; my French publishers
liked that title.</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read More </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/archive/interviews/2009/d_lehane/lehane.html">Here</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">During that time, I devoured his work finding merit
especially in <b><i>Gone, Baby, Gone</i></b>; <b><i>Prayers
for Rain</i></b> and <b><i>Mystic River; Shutter Island</i></b> - for they provoked deep thought, as they told
their exciting stories examining morality and acting as mirrors to view our own
thinking; our own value systems. My enthusiasm for Lehane’s Patrick Kenzie and
Angela Gennaro PI series was very high so I used to write to Dennis via his
wonderful literary </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">agent </span><a href="http://www.rittlit.com/"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ann Rittenberg</span></a><em><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal;"> who kindly
passed my letters to him [as did Morton Janklow earlier when I used to
correspond with </span></em><a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2006/11/dr-lecter-i-presume_04.html"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Thomas Harris</span></a><em><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal;">]. Dennis kindly
signed bookplates for me as I would buy many paperbacks of his work, and glue
the signed bookplates inside [to motivate reading] and pass them to friends,
family and colleagues as gifts – as I love sharing work that moved me, and
wanted to spread the word, supporting the best of the best. </span></em><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dennis Lehane was a writer that helped me get through
some interesting periods of my life. The Irish Catholic backdrop of Boston
mirrored my own experiences in Dublin, as my family has links to Southern
Ireland, so I felt some resonance in his work. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Years later, work such as <b><i>Mystic River</i>,</b> </span><a href="http://crimespreemag.com/film-review-shutter-island-in-the-uk-by-ali-karim/"><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Shutter
Island</span></i></b></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, <b><i>The
Given Day</i></b> would spark my cognition and that of many other literary
commentators, with the moral dilemmas that their denouements presented the
reader as part of the narrative journey unfolding and challenging the reader’s
value system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I felt the same feelings toward his latest work <b><i>Since
We Fell</i></b> when I read this interesting novel, for it promoted deep
thinking and it also challenged my own liberal value system -<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">There are sections of
writing in <b>Since We Fell</b> that stop
you in your tracks; make you contemplate your own life and situation and that
of others, for Lehane’s narrative is peppered with insight and questions. There
is humour but it is cloaked over the veils that cover the characters.</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read my full review </span><a href="http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/book_reviews_view.aspx?book_review_id=1656"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">HERE</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dennis was over as one of the Guests of <a href="http://harrogateinternationalfestivals.com/crime-writing-festival/">Theakstons
Crime-Writing Festival</a>, during which he was in conversation with </span><a href="http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/book_reviews_view.aspx?book_review_id=1462"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Mark
Lawson</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">. Though it
would be the opening comments that Dennis made to the packed audience that made
me realise that not only is he one of my favourite writers of literary
thrillers, but also that he is a very decent human being, and one brave enough
to speak his mind, articulate what some of us feel about the new American
political regime, under Donald Trump.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mark Lawson after introducing </span><a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/return-to-shutter-island.html" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dennis
Lehane</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> to the Harrogate crowd, opened his questioning with </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“so as an American, let’s get the obligatory
Donald Trump question out of the way – so Dennis, what are your thoughts about
Donald Trump as US President?”</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dennis laughed, and made his feelings clear about Trump
and his cabal who reside in Washington. He added that he feels most sadness [and
I quote] at what the people with <i>Brown
Skins</i> are currently experiencing thanks to what Trump and his people are
doing. There was much clapping by the
audience at Lehane’s candid response, which later would touch upon many aspects
of what Trump, Bannon and the so-called ‘alt-right’ have whipped up in terms of
making some feel free to be unpleasant to others - who do not have white skin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He said though he knows that America will survive this period,
as he believes in the principles that the country stands for, and despite all
the flaws – America will survive Trump.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Later that night I chatted with Dennis privately, and
thanked him deeply for being a brave man, and standing up for some of us who
feel anxiety with Trump and his supporters feeling they have been issued a mandate
to be hateful to others. I know many writers who avoid mentioning their
feelings about Trump publically, for fear of alienating their readership, as
many people voted for Trump, and may secretly agree with some parts of what he
stands up for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Bring Back Coal”</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> – yeah, right. We are indeed in a strange
time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">But not Dennis Lehane – he is fearless for in a packed
room, he spoke up for the underdog. In a crowd that looked close to a Thousand
[or maybe more] there were less than a handful who wore Brown Skin, like me, but
he spoke up for us. There are other writers who share via social media the propaganda
from Breitbart, FOX and other right wing ‘news’ outlets, throwing in epithets
to stir up fear and hate - and I know some privately share the same views as
Trump [….I’m not a racist, but……]. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In a democracy, freedom of speech is something I applaud;
but enjoy it while you can for Trump is an Oligarch, not one who celebrates the
democratic process and will attempt to dismantle it, like he is trying to
destroy healthcare for millions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I realised after Harrogate, that not only is Dennis
Lehane one of my favourite writers, but he’s also a very good man – for as
Anglo-Irishman Edmund Burke once said –<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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for good men to do nothing.</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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nothing because he could do only a little.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So I come full circle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Following the magnificent Theakstons Crime-Writing
Festival, many were asking me in person [as well as on social media] <i>“so excited for Bouchercon Toronto and planning
to meet-up” </i>– for which I smiled, though I have told only a few people that
I will <b><u>not</u></b> be attending. It
took a long time to make this difficult decision – namely to not traverse the
North Atlantic for the foreseeable future. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I know a great number of people, so am sad at missing Toronto
Bouchercon and this decision was one that I did not take lightly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is very sad for me, as I studied in North America
and loved the country despite all its imperfections as it struggles to live up
to its ideals; but now my love affair with North America is on hold. My
decision is not related to religious issues as I am a fervent atheist, but it
is all to do with the issues I have endured over the years at American Airports
which my various friends and travel companions have witnessed. I have always
remained good natured, laughed off indignity with the people who have jobs to
do, but knowing that some appear to enjoy some aspects of their roles a little
too avidly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I totally understand the serious need for enhanced
security at places of mass transit, especially commercial passenger aircraft,
but when enhanced background checks are available, each and every time I wish
to cross the Atlantic Ocean, I get additional attention and experience unpleasantness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I have put up with the casual as well as not so casual
racism [including physical violence] since childhood, and usually get over
unpleasantness retaining my dignity and moving on and not dwelling on the
hatred in the eyes of some.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">But no longer, because some people who share this reality
feel that now we’re in the era of Trump and Brexit <i>[“we got our country back”; yeah, right]</i>, there are some that feel
they have a mandate to be hateful to people who are not
White-Anglo-Saxon-Protestant. There have been cases at Airports, words and
actions I have witnessed that have made me come to this difficult decision.
I’ve seen people pulled off flights, detained or held for questioning because
of something <i>‘others’</i> may have said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">During the flight, when you have brown-skin you feel
self-conscious going to the toilet, or when you need to get another book from
the overhead locker – you see people’s faces, and their eyes tell you much, and
then there’s the overt unpleasantness, spoken just loud enough so that the
speaker ensures you’re within earshot to hear the comment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I used to laugh it off, and smile ignoring the hostiles and
ignorant among the crowd.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">At my age now, I am not prepared to put myself in a
position where the opinion of a random stranger can embarrass or hurt me, or
result in me missing a flight or result in detention while ‘we check things out’
- because as Dennis Lehane once said </span><i><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“There are so many more important things
to worry about than how you're perceived by strangers.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The level of ignorance I see around me is baffling as the
ranks of the under-educated and manipulated grows. I don’t wish to embarrass or
put my travel companions in an awkward position – when they see what’s going on
as I get pulled from the queue, or what to say when they hear an unpleasant
epithet uttered with the brown skinned bloke within earshot. Many times my travel companions have waited
for me at the airport, as I have been detained, my luggage swabbed and much
else on both entry to the US, as well as returning to the UK, or overheard the unkind
words from some, as well as feeling self-conscious on the flights. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The most unpleasant was an episode at Baltimore Airport in
2008 on my return to London that was witnessed by my travel companion at the
time Roger Ellory; and which I wish not to detail here as dignity is a keyword
to me. Some close friends know the tale, which I highlighted the absurd and
amusing aspects – to hide the fear of what could have resulted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I totally understand today’s need for robust security,
and as </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I am no longer prepared
to go through this again; it posed a huge dilemma for me. I am a Board Member
of Bouchercon, and have been since election in Long Beach in 2014 and I enjoy
the relationship with my colleagues on the Board who are all very decent,
hardworking people, all supporting the genre on a pro-bono basis as Bouchercon
is a non-profit fan organization. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We all pay our own way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So I have decided to cease
transatlantic travel for the foreseeable future, despite the video-conference
calls – I do not feel I could fulfill my obligations to the Board by not
attending annual Bouchercons as I have done for some time now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HdcZNuTSO0Y/WXYZg7BLe2I/AAAAAAAACs8/gqjyBY0BBXMrfZ4wndJRqsWEfLGATYSpgCLcBGAs/s1600/dave%2Bat%2Bnola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1117" data-original-width="1389" height="514" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HdcZNuTSO0Y/WXYZg7BLe2I/AAAAAAAACs8/gqjyBY0BBXMrfZ4wndJRqsWEfLGATYSpgCLcBGAs/s640/dave%2Bat%2Bnola.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So last month with a sad heart I
composed my letter of resignation to </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">David Magayna, Chair of the Bouchercon Board, as well asking him to share
my letter with the wider Board. I passed personal apologies to Janet Costello
and Helen Nelson the co-chairs for <a href="http://bouchercon2017.com/">Bouchercon
Toronto 2017</a> as I had paid my registration [and I know this year the event
is being held in Canada not America] – however I have decided for the foreseeable
future I would not be taking North-Atlantic journeys.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The personal messages I have received from my colleagues on
the Bouchercon Board since my resignation have moved me; including some that brought
me to tears as I feel sorrow at not being with the team – But they all know
where I am, and my helpful nature should any of them need any help from me in
the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Please understand, I am not being a prima-donna ballerina; I
totally get the need for robust security at Airports - but at my age, I am not prepared
to put myself though the hell of mass-transit when as a brown-skinned person, I’m
open to be vilified by the ignorant around me – as there is an agenda out
there, and some of us do not feel welcome; because I do not require validation
by strangers, as I like to ensure my own dignity is maintained.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So from now on my travel will be restricted to Europe, for when
it comes to visiting North America, I’m <b><i>“Gone, Baby, Gone”</i></b> to quote Dennis
Lehane, an insightful and elegant writer, but also a very decent person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And I have a family who worry about me, then a deadline on a current
novel project to complete by October, books to read and evaluate from other
writers & publishers, as well as comment upon; because for every Dickie
Greenleaf, there is a Tom Ripley in the shadow. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I only wrote this as I know so many
folk who attend Bouchercon annually, and who I enjoy meeting up with, and I
wished to explain why I won’t be coming to Canada this fall / autumn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;">
<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ali Karim<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">27 / 7 [July] / 2017<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b><i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Gone, Baby, Gone<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FAAUFTzXTdY/WXYaMvR77vI/AAAAAAAACtE/x-KFDfpAu70jkmjpzWiFaRU9--qcwWXngCLcBGAs/s1600/simulation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1133" data-original-width="1372" height="528" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FAAUFTzXTdY/WXYaMvR77vI/AAAAAAAACtE/x-KFDfpAu70jkmjpzWiFaRU9--qcwWXngCLcBGAs/s640/simulation.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-59173708253033062542017-07-18T07:21:00.000-07:002017-07-18T07:27:10.461-07:00Shock and Awe: The Horror of our Situation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z_UvHyKWAcs/WW4YSHByfgI/AAAAAAAACsg/O0m9EjrojpsQ3tG1lU4kmjjWMCbHZgSagCLcBGAs/s1600/best%2Bhorror%2Bfilms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1508" height="476" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z_UvHyKWAcs/WW4YSHByfgI/AAAAAAAACsg/O0m9EjrojpsQ3tG1lU4kmjjWMCbHZgSagCLcBGAs/s640/best%2Bhorror%2Bfilms.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It has been
reported in both psychological as well as medical research that a feeling of
awe; a sensation of wonder helps our immune systems. It also promotes a sense
of well-being [physical as well as mental]; it also increases our empathy
toward others – as it makes us think about our place in this reality, and
question our existence and that of others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“That sense of wonder we feel in the presence
of something vast that transcends our </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/empathy" style="transition: color 0.2s; word-wrap: break-word;" title="Psychology Today looks at understanding"><span style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">understanding</span></a> of the world.” They point out that people commonly
experience awe in nature, but also feel a sense of awe in response
to religion, art, music, etc.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Read More <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201505/the-power-awe-sense-wonder-promotes-loving-kindness">Here</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Though, as life
is a <a href="http://cmc.music.columbia.edu/MusicAndComputers/images/chapter1/samepitchdiffamp.jpg">cognitive
sine-wave</a> for we have to manage the ups and downs in our lives – the highs
and lows of our experience of reality – there is an opposite to our sense [or
feeling] of Awe – </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">namely the feeling of
dissatisfaction. This has to be managed too, as it also has an effect upon our
immune systems, as well as empathy toward others, but negatively.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Having a once-in-a-lifetime peak experience
can lead to an unexpected blasé feeling of dissatisfaction. Peggy Lee sums
up the malaise you can feel in the aftermath of a peak
experience in her song, "</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCRZZC-DH7M" style="transition: color 0.2s; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Is that All There Is?</span></a>" The song was inspired by the
existential story </span></i><em><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://libraryofsmalltimeinc.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/disillusionment-by-thomas-mann.html">Disillusionment by Thomas Mann</a></span></em><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. </span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Read More <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201504/peak-experiences-disillusionment-and-the-joy-simplicity">Here</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Managing the
sine-wave of our feelings can at times be tricky, for after an intense period,
or after a feeling of Awe, it can be hard to manage cognitively – for often we
feel a vacuum within or a feeling of disillusionment in consequence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Recently I have
been awed [in fact stunned would be a better word] by three films though
marketed as Horror; the real horror within these movies comes from what I term,
the Horror of our situation in this reality; and the fear of what we don’t
understand. These three films are examinations, reflections of being human in a
scary reality, where the horror comes from our situation, and is often cloaked
in the shadows and within our imaginations. They also provoke deep, deep
thought and contemplation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The test of how
deeply a piece of film has affected me is usually how long I remain in the
cinema, or when the DVD finishes how long I sit immobile and lost in my
thoughts - as the credits roll.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The following
three films held me, lost in deep-thought as the credits rolled as I
contemplated the significance of what I just experienced – bathing in the sense
of awe with my thoughts swirling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The effect of these films [like last year’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90Nd3x1XUzI">Midnight Special by Jeff
Nichols</a>] remain within me; that feeling of awe with no sensation of disillusionment
– for they are food for the mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">GET OUT</span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Get Out</i></span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> is a 2017 American horror film
written, co-produced and directed by Jordan Peele, in his directorial debut.
The film stars Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry
Jones, Stephen Root, LaKeith Stanfield and Catherine Keener, and follows a
young interracial couple who visit the mysterious estate of the woman's
parents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">IT COMES AT NIGHT<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>It Comes at Night</i></span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> is a 2017 American
psychological horror film written and directed by Trey Edward Shults. It stars
Joel Edgerton, Christopher Abbott, Carmen Ejogo, Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Riley
Keough. This claustrophobic tales centers on a highly contagious disease that has
ravaged the outside world. Paul, his wife Sarah, and their teenage son Travis
have secluded themselves in a country home. One night they are awoken by the
sound of someone [or something] trying to break into their fortified home in
the dark forest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">PERSONAL SHOPPER<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Personal Shopper</i></span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> is a 2016 French psychological thriller film written and
directed by Olivier Assayas. It stars Kristen Stewart, Lars Eidinger, Sigrid
Bouaziz, Anders Danielsen Lie, Ty Olwin, Hammou Graia, Nora von Waldstatten,
Benjamin Biolay, Audrey Bonnet and Pascal Rambert. It tells the story of </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Maureen [</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristen_Stewart"><span style="color: #0b0080; text-decoration-line: none;">Kristen Stewart</span></a><span style="color: #222222;">] a personal shopper in Paris for Kyra (Nora von Waldstätten),
a celebrity. She travels to European capitals to shop for her, buying clothes,
accessories and jewels. Her twin brother Lewis recently died from a heart
attack; they shared the same genetic heart problem. They were both interested
in spiritualism and believed they had connections to the spirit world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With an honourable mention to a film from
last year that I still think about from time to time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">MIDNIGHT SPECIAL <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Midnight Special</i></span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> is a 2016 American science fiction film written and
directed by Jeff Nichols, and produced by Sarah Green and Brian
Kavanaugh-Jones. The film stars Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst,
Adam Driver, Jaeden Lieberher and Sam Shepard. The story revolves around Roy
Tomlin and his biological son, Alton Meyer, escaping from both the government
and a cult, after discovering that Alton has special powers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These films are like
lucid dreams, they remain within my mind and I think of them and their significance
from time to time – for they gave me a sense of awe, one that that made me
think deeply as well as reflect upon something Stephen King once postulated in
his book “On Writing” - <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Life isn't a support
system for art. It's the other way around.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-7833414375358031672017-05-27T09:27:00.000-07:002017-05-27T09:27:14.221-07:00Doppelgänger : Peter Rozovsky & Ali Karim discuss Donald Westlake & Richard Stark<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5h8LdrUZdUs/WSmn3ZCxmuI/AAAAAAAAClU/P23cxDxGGmkb3aYBlY6wAuZuoF5C3FDZwCLcB/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1041" data-original-width="1500" height="444" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5h8LdrUZdUs/WSmn3ZCxmuI/AAAAAAAAClU/P23cxDxGGmkb3aYBlY6wAuZuoF5C3FDZwCLcB/s640/1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Doppelgänger</span></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">from the German [literally
"double-goer"] is a look-alike or double of a living person,
sometimes portrayed as a paranormal phenomenon, and is usually seen as a
harbinger of bad luck.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ever since I witnessed some mysterious
and frightening incidents as a child; something I still cannot explain, something
that I still think of from time to time – the role of the Doppelgänger has
always fascinated me, as well as acting as a warning to me, about personality, and
the dangers of existence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Like many writers, I use pen
names and enjoy traversing the edges of personality, be it my own or that of
others. The reasoning is that most people are not who they present themselves
as; for we have facets of character that remain hidden - often to survive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As
the 1980s were closing Stephen King's pen name Richard Bachman was exposed as
he battled the last stages of his alcohol and pharmaceutical misuse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TKKD1cGm1zg/WSmoHShdP5I/AAAAAAAAClY/-Ko2fGXDGwo90yYfVG4mmawzwrSh0t1lQCLcB/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="960" height="358" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TKKD1cGm1zg/WSmoHShdP5I/AAAAAAAAClY/-Ko2fGXDGwo90yYfVG4mmawzwrSh0t1lQCLcB/s640/3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
novel THE DARK HALF is from that time though rarely mentioned; with its surreal
story of Author Thad Beaumont a writer of literary fiction battling his Pen
Name George Stark's creation the disfigured and dangerously malevolent Alexis
Machine. George Stark wrote two ultra-violent and renowned pulp thrillers MACHINE'S
WAY and STEEL MACHINE that were far more popular commercially than Thad
Beaumont’s literary output.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/oct/21/rereading-stephen-king-the-dark-half"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This underrated King novel THE DARK
HALF</span></a><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> is
a thinly disguised homage to Donald Westlake and it would be filmed later by
George A Romero starring Timothy Hutton.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
recall King’s THE DARK HALF because like Donald Westlake, some of us have a little
Richard Stark in us, to help traverse the dangers in this world; but like
Nietzsche's abyss, when the inner Parker is revealed to others, the abyss that
is Parker looks back into you. The dark side of human nature is an evolutionary
necessity; but also a danger - one we keep locked away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“The office women looked
at him and shivered. They knew he was a bastard; his big hands were born to
slap with, they knew his face would never break into a smile when he looked at
a woman. They knew what he was, they thanked God for their husbands, and still
they shivered. Because they knew how he would fall on a woman in the night.
Like a tree".”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></i><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">― Richard Stark, The
Hunter<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/stark-truth.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Here's a few words</span></a><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> I wrote for Jeff
Pierce's THE RAP SHEET when Quercus Publishing brought back Parker to the UK in
2007. Jeff featured a staggering outpouring in 2009 when Donald Westlake passed
away, and here's some thoughts from the Crime / Thriller Community from The Rap
Sheet </span><a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/nobody-runs-forever-last-good-bye-to.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Part One</span></a><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> and </span><a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/nobody-runs-forever-last-good-bye-to_11.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Part Two</span></a><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I
wrote at the time in 2009 when hearing of the passing of Donald Westlake -<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">"I first discovered
Donald Westlake thanks to the movie version of The Hot Rock with Robert
Redford, which led me to explore more of the Dortmunder books, as well as
muttering “Afghanistan, Bananistan” to strangers from time to time. But my true
love was the Richard Stark series featuring Parker. I loved the spartan style
of Stark, and was overjoyed when I read Stephen King’s tribute to Stark in his
brilliant novel about split personalities, The Dark Half. (“Anyway, for reasons
you’d have to ask Westlake about, he eventually stopped writing novels about
Parker, but I never forgot something Westlake said after the pen name was
blown. He said he wrote books on sunny days and Stark took over on the rainy
ones ...”) It was an apt tribute to a great man.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I only met Westlake once
when we came to the CrimeScene convention in London in 2005. I was humbled in
his presence, despite his modesty and gentle nature. I find it surreal that
when I heard of the awful news [of Westlake’s death], the first words that came
into my head were “Afghanistan, Bananistan,” which echoed as a lament for our
loss. I miss his words already, as the world just darkened a tad, knowing that
he is no longer with us.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Watch
</span><a href="http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.co.uk/"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Detectives Beyond Borders</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> </span></span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Peter Rozovsky<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and
I discuss Donald Westlake and Richard Stark in an amusing and unscripted post-<a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/getting-feel-for-fest.html">Crimefest
2017</a> Sunday afternoon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/La3wyWJfyFc" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br />
In memory of the late Donald Westlake and Darwyn Cooke<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-29310883436555514612017-05-06T11:29:00.000-07:002017-05-06T12:10:15.987-07:00Doppelgänger Tales <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uv_D5kzRJuc/WQ4TygK5D5I/AAAAAAAACkA/dcCX0ClFWt4QIu9bGM09vN6WAVtBxcVQACLcB/s1600/alone%2Bin%2BLondon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uv_D5kzRJuc/WQ4TygK5D5I/AAAAAAAACkA/dcCX0ClFWt4QIu9bGM09vN6WAVtBxcVQACLcB/s640/alone%2Bin%2BLondon.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Some of my friends and colleagues know of my interest in the “Doppelgänger” [a ghostly duplicate of a living person, derived from the German term Doppelgänger, literally: double-goer].</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">My interest is both of times that I have been mistaken for someone else; as well as encountering Doppelgängers of other people that I know.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">My current interest in the Doppelgänger stems from something I am writing, something that takes over much of my current thinking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I have a few Doppelgänger tales, some that are seriously disconcerting [as anyone who has shared a late evening in a bar with me will attest to]. I will share one of my Doppelgänger tales here; but this one is an amusing anecdote from my recollections of days now passed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">It was early/mid 1980s, England. I’d just returned back from the American Midwest where I had been studying for a Doctorate in Chemistry. On my return, my Father had been livid with me [as I had given up a good job at ICI, Runcorn to further my studies in America]. He told me in strong terms that I had to get a job after<i> ‘fucking around academia’</i> and messing up a career in Imperial Chemicals Industries [ICI].</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The first job I applied for I got an interview straightway and headed to London, as they needed me to start immediately. I worked as a young Industrial Chemist, for a Chemicals Storage and Logistics company on the Thames [London and Coastal Oil Wharves Ltd], which I helped get into chemical processing with Automotive Antifreeze manufacture as well as Chemical blending.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The company had taken a stand at The European Chemical Trade Fair, hosted at Heathrow’s Penta Hotel. The Managing Director asked me to ‘man the stand’ over the three-day trade fair [as I was cheap, and he wanted to show off his young Chemist to his customers as well as attract new customers].</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I enjoyed the few days
having a superb room in the Penta; and as I was single it meant I got all my
meals and drinks on account. Various managers from the company drifted in and
out of the Chemical Trade Fair, helping me man our company stand.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">On the final night Martin Wells, our MD had organised a celebratory dinner in the Penta, with three of our managers and a dozen or so of his top customers. The affair was a long and enjoyable evening. I drank rather a lot of wine, followed by generous quantities of Gin. I needed very little encouragement as our long table was in celebratory mode after the Chemical trade fair. So after a few hours in the bar, it was time to say goodnight and farewell to my colleagues and our guests. I stumbled up to my room which was a feat in itself, due to the amount of Gin I consumed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">On entering my room, I was way too drunk to function correctly, so I just fell asleep on the bed in my suit, only loosening my tie. I noted that the red LED on the bedside clock-radio said it was past three AM. The next thing I recall was that I was dreaming about a ringing phone; or so I thought. The dream woke me up, and I realised that I was not dreaming at all, but the phone by my bedside was ringing, and ringing and ringing. I grabbed the receiver and as I pushed it to my ear, the clock-radio informed me it was coming to five thirty in the morning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">“<i>It’s reception. Mr Karim, your taxi is here”</i> said the voice on the line.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><i>“I’ll be right down” </i>I replied in my drunken fugue. Looking back, I don’t know why I hadn’t queried the call about an early morning cab. I knew Martin Wells and the other managers were staying in the Penta too; and we were leaving in the morning, but not at this fucking early hour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Somehow I managed to navigate myself down to reception, where a perplexed Night Porter and Cab Driver [who was leaning on the reception counter] stared back at me; this dishevelled young Asian bloke staggering in a crumpled suit obviously as drunk as a skunk.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The Night Porter quickly swivelled his chair back to his computer and looked back at me and said <i>“You are Abdul Karim of Egyptian Airlines?”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><i>“No, I’m Ali Karim of London and Coastal Oil Wharves”</i> I replied hiccuping and then running to the nearby toilet, as I felt my stomach heave in my drunken state as reality started to spin around me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">As I ran, I remember hearing the Cab Driver laughing<i> “thank fuck for that, as I thought that cunt is flying the 0700 hrs to Cairo.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Though strictly not a true Doppelgänger Tale; I have two more about a person, persons or thing that may be a true Doppelgänger of mine; but that’s for when I am in a bar late at night and someone wants me to follow Peter Straub’s gathering of old men, when one asks <i>“tell us all the scariest thing that has ever happened to you.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Until then, back to my writing, and the issue of coming
face to face with your <i>Doppelgänger.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-28680960683089526762017-04-01T15:04:00.000-07:002017-04-01T16:04:15.687-07:00Anyone know the way to Shell Beach? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0uEJZOSVlvI/WOAimfdlmTI/AAAAAAAACg8/9cEOr1SlEX8JSwDdjxX2lUdcF4DiNkoxACLcB/s1600/shell%2Bbeach%2Bwall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0uEJZOSVlvI/WOAimfdlmTI/AAAAAAAACg8/9cEOr1SlEX8JSwDdjxX2lUdcF4DiNkoxACLcB/s640/shell%2Bbeach%2Bwall.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I was recently reading that there are plans to remake the
<em><span style="background: white; font-style: normal;">Wachowski</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> brother’s 1999 movie <b>THE MATRIX</b>, and then I learned that Martin Scorsese’s film
adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s novel <b>Shutter
Island</b> is being adapted into a TV series. The recent HBO reboot / reworking
of the Michael Crichton 1973 directorial debut <b>Westworld</b> was a remarkable piece of work, and proved hugely popular commercially despite its immense cost. What these works share in common is their
interpretation of what we perceive as our reality; something that most of us ponder
upon from time to time, as well as the purpose and reason for our ‘being’ here
on the third rock from our power source, our Sun. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My favourite
sub-genre of </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulated_reality_in_fiction#Film"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">film</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> and </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulated_reality_in_fiction#Literature"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">books</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> are those that questions what we perceive as reality, of
which I have read many work as well as viewed many mind-bending films. Though <b>The Matrix </b>and its two sequels are
probably the most commented upon; I still have very warm feelings toward three
films that were released around the same time [before the Millennium], and
mined similar themes - David Cronenberg’s 1999 <b>eXistenz </b></span></span><span style="background: #f8f9fa; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Josef Rusnak</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> 1999’s <b>The Thirteen Floor</b> and of course my favourite Alex Proyas’ 1998 <b>Dark City.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Though
there are </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulated_reality_in_fiction"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">many, many others</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">; but particular mention
should be made of Stanislaw Lem’s novel <b>Solaris</b>
which was first filmed by Andrei Tarkovsky in 1972 and remade / reworked in
2002 by James Cameron and </span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Steven
Soderbergh. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Though the earliest recorded thoughts
that question what we perceive as reality can be traced to Plato’s Republic in
his “Allegory of the Cave”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the allegory, Plato likens people
untutored in the Theory of Forms to prisoners chained in a cave, unable to turn
their heads. All they can see is the wall of the cave. Behind them burns a
fire. Between the fire and the prisoners there is a parapet, along which
puppeteers can walk. The puppeteers, who are behind the prisoners, hold up
puppets that cast shadows on the wall of the cave. The prisoners are unable to
see these puppets, the real objects that pass behind them. What the prisoners
see and hear are shadows and echoes cast by objects that they do not see.<span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Read More </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_Cave"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Here</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> and
view a short Ted-Ed video on the nature of reality as seen via Plato’s Cave</span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Anyone with a basic understanding of Chemistry, Physics
and Mathematics will tell you that the world we perceive with our sensory apparatus
is a mere fraction of what is actually around us. Advancement in
technology is making us realise that there are many other aspects / forms
within the reality that surrounds us; and which we cannot detect from our
sensory apparatus - in the narrow bands of light, sound, taste, touch and smell
that we use to navigate reality. In fact we also know that we are now creating
our own realities virtually. In David Cronenberg’s 1999 film <b>eXistenz</b>, we see that the rabbit holes
of interconnected realities is deep, for in each of our artificially created
realities, the occupants create or engineer their own, and to quote Kurt
Vonnegut <i>‘and so it goes’</i>; layer upon
layer of artificially created virtual realities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As the relentless march of technology and science marches
on headlong, there are many reports coming that the reality we are experiencing
is far from what we see around ourselves, for perhaps Plato’s Allegory of the
Cave is correct. Reports that our reality is indeed a construct or a form of
artifice is coming from </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgSZA3NPpBs"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">credible
sources</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, including </span><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/earth/story/20160901-we-might-live-in-a-computer-program-but-it-may-not-matter"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">these</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. There were interesting ripples in the
scientific community when <span style="background: white;">Dr. James Gates Jr
explained that in his experiments in particle physics and string theory, </span></span><a href="https://youtu.be/cvMlUepVgbA"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">he found a form of
computer code</span></a><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">; strings of One and Zeros
called error correcting codes, embedded within, or resulting from, the
equations of supersymmetry that describe fundamental particles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When one works through </span><a href="https://youtu.be/uxihn3U2kV4"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lord Martin Rees work</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">,
and that of </span><a href="https://youtu.be/nnl6nY8YKHs"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Professor
Nick Bostrom</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> we see that the </span><a href="http://www.simulation-argument.com/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">simulation argument</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> has
indeed merit, and that the chances are close to 100% that we are indeed trapped
in a ‘construct’ akin to Plato’s Cave; in a simulation or reality that is a
form of artifice. As troubling as this sounds; the reality of our situation has
a paradoxical twist, for it matters little if we are in the Cave with much
hidden from our senses, or to quote </span><a href="https://youtu.be/LCRZZC-DH7M"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Peggy Lee’s question <i>‘Is that all there is?’</i></span></a><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">from the song penned by </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller [which
in turm was </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">derived from the </span><a href="http://theyounglovers.tumblr.com/post/1110623088/disillusionment"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1896 story Disillusionment [Enttäuschung]</span></a><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> by Thomas
Mann</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
– used to great effect in </span><a href="https://youtu.be/i0SxECJTOXg"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">John
August’s 2007 film</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> that also questioned the nature of our
reality <b>The Nines. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The march of technology may well further prove or
disprove the veracity of our reality, as primitive man came from Caves, and we
may soon discover that we are still cave dwellers, pursuing our lives with
artificial meaning in the allegorical Cave that Plato proposed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The scary downside is that the sheer scale of the weapons
we are capable of manufacturing [with the march of technology] in these times,
can appeal dangerously to the dark-side of human nature. We must also remember
that the dark-side of our natures helped us evolve in the competitive games we
term evolution, for without our dark-side we would never have survived
predation – but today, in so-called civilised society, that dark-side has
dangers when the scale of our weapons are now unspeakable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So <i>“reality is,
what it is” </i>and we have to navigate it as well as we can, but from time to
time we see things that we cannot explain, things we put down to the randomness
of our reality; coincidences as well as the vagaries of our skills in pattern
recognition [another tool that is necessary for our evolution as a
species]. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Last year, when my editor and close friend Mike Stotter
and I went to </span><a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/gumbo-and-gumshoes-part-i.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">New
Orleans for Bouchercon 2016</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, The World Crime and Mystery
Convention, we had a wonderful time, shared with our friends from the genre we
support. Though New Orleans has its own mysteries in its own right, and sure we
drank a lot and partied however some things remain with me, things that made me
think, made me ponder like seeing pixilation of reality, of glitches. I know
many of us are cynical however, like that sensation of Déjà vu, it can also be
unsettling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One memory that makes me smile is related to a favourite
film of mine. I often make reference to <span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;">Alex Proyas’ 1998 </span></span></span><a href="https://youtu.be/jSpowoKqSzc"><b><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dark City</span></b></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">as it a firm favourite.
During Bouchercon 2016, Mike and I spent a wonderful evening with our friends
Chris Whiteside and Martina Cole. Martina is one Great Britain’s most popular
crime-writers and has been a very dear friend of Mike and I for many years. She
is celebrating </span></span><a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/dangerous-lady-25-years-on.html"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">her 25<sup>th</sup> year in publishing</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> and during Bouchercon, she generously
treated Chris, Mike and I to a wonderful dinner and drinks at the Hotel
Monteleone in New Orlean’s French Quarter. I know we consumed a great deal of
Gin, but after a fabulous dinner I felt a little strange which I put down to
the drinking but the feeling was more akin to Déjà vu, and I kept thinking of
the film <b>Dark City </b>and the
significance of this reality. I noticed that the bar-singer start a song that
made me smile. It was the renowned </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sway_(song)"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mexican
song “Sway”</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> and
I quickly grabbed my Iphone to record it for the coincidental line with my
thinking was perplexing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
song ‘Sway’ features in <b>Dark City</b>,
with Jennifer Connelly, though the vocal recording was actually with </span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Anita Kelsey. I know it was coincidence that I was thinking
about the Alex Proyas film while seated in the hotel bar in New Orleans, and
maybe the ambience reminded me of that scene with William Hurt and Jennifer
Connelly. Though </span><a href="http://www.simulation-argument.com/barrowsim.pdf"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">coupled
to a few other events</span></a><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> / coincidences, the memory
still makes me smile; as does the understanding that if we are indeed inside
Plato’s Cave then there are some </span><a href="http://www.jetpress.org/volume7/simulation.htm"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">rules
to make the experience worthwhile</span></a><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For
those who have seen <b>Dark City</b>, may
follow the significance of why Rufus Sewell’s character is searching for Shell
Beach. It would not be until I returned to England that I discovered that </span></span><a href="http://www.nola.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2015/12/shell_beach_fishing_action_a_r.html"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Shell Beach is actually located not far from New Orleans, in
Louisiana.</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This
line of thinking will of course narrow itself to whether we take the </span></span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE7PKRjrid4"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Blue or Red
Pill</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, because
as Grace Slick once said with Jefferson Airplane<i>, “one Pill makes you larger and one Pill makes you small”</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Perhaps
next time I will find myself in New Orleans, I will indeed seek out Shell
Beach, because I heard it's the end of the line. </span></span></div>
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Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-45326134071684350072017-03-18T14:25:00.001-07:002017-03-18T14:27:20.212-07:00Logan's Run : When The Man Comes Around<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yidtUbL52Vg/WM2lBgT70rI/AAAAAAAACfc/tC1pteuHpLcKmx_pZBZ0OWGIIsyuAgueQCLcB/s1600/logan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yidtUbL52Vg/WM2lBgT70rI/AAAAAAAACfc/tC1pteuHpLcKmx_pZBZ0OWGIIsyuAgueQCLcB/s640/logan.jpg" width="452" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Well
James Mangold's LOGAN is indeed remarkable, beautiful, thought-provoking,
ultra-violent and poignant.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In
a curious turn of events, I ending up seeing the film with my eldest daughter
Sophia this afternoon; and for those who have seen Logan, may smile at the <i>Father & Daughter</i> subtext.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tPG2A5LFX8I/WM2lRsA1v8I/AAAAAAAACfg/xVArFVPOVd0VtgGRS0_oCVObeurPPHTegCLcB/s1600/sophia%2Blogan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tPG2A5LFX8I/WM2lRsA1v8I/AAAAAAAACfg/xVArFVPOVd0VtgGRS0_oCVObeurPPHTegCLcB/s640/sophia%2Blogan.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">In
the 1970s/1980s I found comfort like so many adolescents with Marvel Comics </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Men_(comic_book)" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The X-Men</a><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">;
especially the Chris Claremont / John Byrne reboot and the Frank Miller
Wolverine.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The
nature and theme of young misfits in a harsh and intolerant world that the
comics portrayed, always gave comfort as we grappled with reality, emerging from
our infant cocoons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Decades
later I found myself in a Cinema with my 24 year old daughter viewing a film
version of the characters from my childhood comics - Professor <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_X">Charles Xavier</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolverine_(comic_book)">Wolverine</a> in
'LOGAN'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I99BSMof_p8/WM2lfpqtTqI/AAAAAAAACfk/D556kpHinGs3C_EXJpDK-FuurpBuURd4QCLcB/s1600/logan%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="337" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I99BSMof_p8/WM2lfpqtTqI/AAAAAAAACfk/D556kpHinGs3C_EXJpDK-FuurpBuURd4QCLcB/s640/logan%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">As
the film ended, to silence and the screen faded to black, I thought of those
lines all adolescents hear in their minds</span><i style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
</i><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">from time to time when adversity knocks on their door</span><i style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> -</i><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> '<i>everything will
work out fine</i>'</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">And
as the credits rolled, and everyone sat silently, I heard Johnny Cash's voice<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9J4f--04puY" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.5pt;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Logan,
the final chapter in the tales of Wolverine is a very powerful film, exploring
similar themes to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Special_(film)">Jeff Nicholls'
Midnight Special</a>, and proving the maxim we hear in our minds when under
stress - <i>'everything will work out fine</i>'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">When
the Man comes around<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-28721873698623378332017-01-18T11:09:00.000-08:002017-01-19T07:02:15.974-08:00Tower of Song: Travels with Thomas H Cook<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1UTaR1E72zs/WH-4eCYGKhI/AAAAAAAACVU/0IqNvsNcfXsc2GuJgLJc23toBg8xrSETgCLcB/s1600/tom%2Band%2Bsusan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="466" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1UTaR1E72zs/WH-4eCYGKhI/AAAAAAAACVU/0IqNvsNcfXsc2GuJgLJc23toBg8xrSETgCLcB/s640/tom%2Band%2Bsusan.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Well, my friends are gone and my hair is grey</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I ache in the places where I used to play<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And I'm crazy for love but I'm not coming on<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I'm just paying my rent every day in the Tower of Song<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Leonard Cohen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A book arrived in the post
at my office on Friday that made me gasp with joy; even though it is ultimately
a melancholic lament; a reflection upon sadness. But perhaps most interestingly
it is an examination of what it means to traverse a reality, a planetary landscape
that is as random, as it is dangerous. It also reminds us what it means to be human
when monsters surround us [many of whom </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJJfe1k9CeE"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">hide
among us, well disguised</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">], and observations
of the places [on this planet] that haunt us. But it is a work that is ultimately
uplifting; for the human condition is a complex one, where the extremes are
troubling and where our existential thoughts can become real.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JdR2RatL97s/WH-5tk_pEHI/AAAAAAAACV4/tdT1ZujrfZQ56XSVqBY29Ylloz7kvm7mgCEw/s1600/harrogate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="473" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JdR2RatL97s/WH-5tk_pEHI/AAAAAAAACV4/tdT1ZujrfZQ56XSVqBY29Ylloz7kvm7mgCEw/s640/harrogate.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Melancholia is one of
many characteristics of what it means to be human. As an emotional state of
mind, Melancholia often lays dormant, awaiting a trigger or triggers. It is often
a by-product of our thinking – ‘existential’ but it can be transformed into ‘the
real’ by external as well internal forces [and dangerous lines of thought, or
inquiry].</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I am often reminded of
the words [and music] of Leonard Cohen, who I turn to when my own mind turns
melancholic, reflective.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Though melancholia as a
state of mind has to be handled carefully, as it has legitimate purpose; for
those who can manage the dark feelings that confront us from time to time. For
those who understand Melancholia and can wrangle these feelings and gain
strength from these existential thoughts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Leonard Cohen’s </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wRYjtvIYK0"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘Anthem’</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> alludes to this, particularly with this line
-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“<span style="background: white;">There is a
crack in everything, that's how the light gets in”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you
cannot tame feelings of melancholia that many of us get from time to time, there
can be danger, as melancholia can alter our thinking, and brain chemistry
leading us mentally into some dark places.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Incidentally,
Cohen’s ‘<a href="https://youtu.be/THUhjzYz2n4">Anthem</a>’<i> </i>was truncated and adopted [with permission] by the award-winning
[and fellow Canadian] mystery writer, </span><a href="http://www.louisepenny.com/"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Louise Penny</span></a><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> for the title of one of her
</span><a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/a-penny-for-your-thoughts.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Inspector
Armand Gamache </span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">mysteries. It was Headline Publishing of
Great Britain that first brought <a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/in-for-penny-in-for-pound.html">Penny’s
mystery novels</a> into print, with ‘Still Life’ being first showcased at the
Canadian Embassy in London where many of us from the CWA gathered to celebrate
its publication in 2005. Louise’s debut was a runner-up in the Crime Writers
Association’s 2004 Debut Dagger Competition. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WSLEinban1c/WH-4pCcs1fI/AAAAAAAACVY/dEXbaSwH6s00QZUgWUVA0amNmAnPePulACLcB/s1600/louise%2Bpenny%2Bcovers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WSLEinban1c/WH-4pCcs1fI/AAAAAAAACVY/dEXbaSwH6s00QZUgWUVA0amNmAnPePulACLcB/s640/louise%2Bpenny%2Bcovers.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Many of us were deeply saddened last year to hear of </span></span><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/michael-whitehead-obit-1.3769676"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">the
passing of her devoted husband Michael</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. Many of us
had gotten to know this </span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">gentle
</span></span><em><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 115%;">Paediatrician over the years, as he often accompanied Louise to many
events and cheered away when her talent was acknowledged by her peers [when her
work gained award recognition]. To many of us, Louise and Michael, were one
person, but in two bodies. The loss of a partner on the human mind is a hard
thing to bear, and the management of grief and melancholia a task that takes
effort and resolve; avoiding what writer John Irving once referred to as </span></em><a href="https://geoffreyandmika.me/2013/05/26/keep-passing-the-open-windows-john-irving-the-hotel-new-hampshire/"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘the allure of the open windows’</span></a><em><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 115%;">, from his 1981
novel </span></em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/31/books/irving-hotel.html"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Hotel New Hampshire</span></a><em><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 115%;">, which was </span></em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xKz5iS7b0A"><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">filmed in 1984 by Tony Richardson</span></a><em><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 115%;">.</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A few colleagues [and
friends] have my business address, so on occasion I receive reading material
mailed to me at work. When that happens, it’s usually an item that is either <i>‘urgent’</i> or <i>‘important’</i>. Anyone who has been sent on a <i>‘</i></span><a href="https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_91.htm"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">time management’</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> or a <i>‘getting
things done’ </i>course<i> </i>will know the
importance of being able to discriminate between these two existential states.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Last week was a tough but an
enjoyable one. I arrived back in the office Friday, weary and looking forward
to the weekend for a break. Despite having a number of pressing books awaiting my
time; as well as a page count [in my own writing] that sits like a petulant
child waiting for attention; something extraordinary arrived Friday morning in
the mail that made me gasp.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My colleague Dan passed a
parcel to me as he sifted through the incoming correspondence. I opened the
package without thinking. When I saw the book it contained, I let out a
‘whoop!’ much to the amusement of Dan and my fellow colleagues. From the corner
of my eye, I could see the good natured smiles and chuckles from my team. My
colleagues understand my love affair with books, and the written word; in fact
sometimes my passion for dark literature and film spill out into my </span><a href="http://www.hazchemnetwork.co.uk/item.asp?NewsID=106"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">day-job</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As I held the book in my
hand, I realised I held a physical manifestation of the existential thoughts captured
by one of the greatest exponents of mystery writing; now ripped from his mind,
and held onto paper for others to absorb. It was a book I had thought a great
deal about for some time now, as well as pondering about the life of its
writer, and his own journeys; some which provoke deep and at times troubling
thoughts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am talking about <a href="https://www.januarymagazine.com/profiles/cook.html">Thomas H Cook</a>,
one of the most literate of crime writers and an enigma in his own right. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8bKeha7TWP0" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have to thank Publisher,
Editor, Writer, Raconteur </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/books/review/otto-penzler-by-the-book.html?_r=0"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Otto Penzler</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">,
as well as </span><a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2007/05/still-deadly-at-50.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">George Easter</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
and </span><a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/larry-gandles-book-to-die-for.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Larry Gandle</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
of </span><a href="http://www.deadlypleasures.com/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Deadly
Pleasures Mystery Magazine</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> for first introducing
me to the work of Thomas H Cook; a writer who has challenged my way of thinking,
as well as providing me insights into the dark side of human nature, while entertaining
me with narratives that remain in my mind, like shards of jagged glass. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It was during my first </span><a href="http://archive.shotsmag.co.uk/Bouchercon_2003_Report.htm"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bouchercon, back in 2003</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> when I first met Otto, Larry and George. As bibliophiles
we always exchange notes on our reading. Otto, George and Larry were surprised
that I had never read the work of Thomas H Cook. In fact their surprise
indicated to me [that as well read as I consider myself], something was missing,
something lacking, something I had overlooked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Thomas Cook has been
published sporadically in Great Britain; back then he was with the </span><a href="https://www.orionbooks.co.uk/information/about-orion.page"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Orion Publishing Group</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.
Anyway, I corrected this omission in my reading by devouring as many Thomas
Cook novels that I could lay my hands on, and ordering from the US any work not
available in the UK. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Over the years Tom’s path
and mine have crossed either in London, Harrogate or at an annual US </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouchercon"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bouchercon</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> event; for the insight his imagination [coupled to his
narrative ability] have brought to me has been very important. The novels of
Thomas H Cook have made me ponder about human nature [especially its darker
side], as well as providing me outstanding entertainment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I have reviewed his </span><a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2006/10/murmur-is-worth-shouting-about.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">work</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> many times, as his
fiction has deeply affected me so much so it is always a highlight when we meet
up, and we talk. A particular time that is retained fondly in my memory is the lunch
Tom and I shared with </span><a href="http://archive.shotsmag.co.uk/shots21/intvus_21/dmorrell1.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">David Morrell</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
and <a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/harry-bosch-comes-to-london.html">Larry
Gandle</a> during 2009’s Bouchercon Indianapolis. It was good to break bread
and suck back a beer with very dear and old friends who share the pleasures of
Crime and Thriller Literature. David Morrell is a literature professor, while
Tom Cook also has a distinguished academic background in literature; <a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/itw-100-thrillers-makes-washington-post.html">while
Larry Gandle and I are both Scientists</a> and in our free time are Assistant
Editors at Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine and Shots Magazine respectively –
but all four of us are very good friends so when we meet up – it’s like we were
never apart.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The main topic over lunch was
the runaway success of Stieg Larsson’s ‘<a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/new-girl-on-block.html">The Girl
with the Dragon Tattoo</a>’, as Tom, Larry and David were amused at my <a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2007/12/case-of-grand-larsson.html">championing
this work from the get-go</a>; though there was also a blanket of melancholia over
the lunch. We knew of some recent troubling news from </span><a href="http://davidmorrell.net/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">David Morrell</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">. I am always in awe of David’s ability to </span><a href="http://davidmorrell.net/books/fireflies/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">manage
unimaginable adversity</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">; and then to have to
confront heart-breaking adversity again; holding strong for the family takes
inner resolve, </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">stoicism</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> –
and for some, this means </span><a href="http://www.mwany.org/2015/06/remembering-ed-wright/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">we have to write</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, in
order to manage our thinking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With writers, sometimes you
can detect the frame of mind that they were in [at the time of writing a
specific novel]. With David Morrell, his mind sometimes reflects and examines the
</span><a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2006/11/morrells-mushrooming-fame.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">melancholia in the lives of his fictional protagonists</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. David [like many writers when faced with deep
adversity] threw himself into writing; fictionalizing the adventures of the
Victorian writer <a href="https://grevel.co.uk/tag/murder-as-a-fine-art/">Thomas
De Quincey</a>, in a stunning sequence of historic thrillers, </span><a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/david-morrells-british-adventure.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">which started with the award-winning Murder as a Fine
Art.</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> The third instalment in the
series </span><a href="http://davidmorrell.net/books/ruler-of-the-night/synopsis/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ruler of the Night</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
has just been released. David admitted to me that the Thomas De Quincey
historical thrillers came to him during that dark period in 2009; though it
would not be until 2014 during <a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/bouchercon-2014-long-beach-goodbye-part_19.html">Bouchercon
Long Beach</a> that ‘<a href="https://youtu.be/kH2vnKcoLy0">Murder as a Fine
Art</a>’ would be awarded the <a href="http://mysteryreaders.org/macavity-awards/">2014 Sue Feder Historical Mystery
Award</a> [as presented by Janet Rudolph of Mystery Readers International].</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am reminded of some words
from British writer Graham Greene that helps explain why some of us are
compelled to write.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all
those who do not write, compose, or paint can manage to escape the madness,
melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Anyway, as ever I digress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I was delighted when </span><a href="http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/feature_view.aspx?FEATURE_ID=94"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Quercus Publishing was set up</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, as the hands of</span><a href="http://www.thebookseller.com/profile/business-profile-anthony-cheetham"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Anthony Cheetham</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
and Otto Penzler were evident in this niche publishing house’s inception. One
of their first publications was <a href="https://theludicreader.com/2016/07/09/">Thomas
H Cook’s Red Leaves</a>, which was awarded the 2006 MWA Edgar Award, as well as
Nominated for the CWA Gold Dagger. I have reviewed Tom’s work many times, as
have far more lucid and qualified literary commentators. Though one factor that
always haunts me is why Thomas H Cook’s work is not </span><a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2006/11/king-and-i.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Stephen King</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
in terms of sales; sure his mantelpiece is congested with many literary awards,
from around the world, and is known and read avidly by the key critics of the
Crime and Mystery Genre; so sure he sells well – but in my opinion, he should
be selling in the volumes of someone like Stephen King. My reasoning is that he
is the most literary of writers that have traversed my reading table; and he
can tell a fine story, one that makes you think, ponder about our situation –
the human condition. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The theme of Thomas H Cook
being one of the treasures on the Crime and Mystery Genre, but a secret [of
sorts], became the pivot in my 2009 feature interview at Linda Richards’
January Magazine [with a fine edit by Jeff Pierce] –</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Ali : And you’ve become quite prolific
since. So why -- despite your having received awards and critical acclaim -- do
you remain a secret to many readers?</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><b>Tom :</b> I truly don’t know the answer to
that question, but the experience can be very disheartening, let me tell you. I
think many readers just want a fast read. Which is fine. They have that right.
But I don’t write fast reads. I think mystery readers in particular are quite
demarcated in their reading habits. People who read puzzle mysteries don’t read
thrillers, and people who read thrillers don’t read puzzle novels, and so on
down thorough several subgenres. I write a combination mystery-mainstream
novel, and that is a big problem, I think, in that mainstream readers very
often never give mysteries a chance. I fall through a lot of cracks, and so
far, despite wonderful reviews over a period of 20 years, I am still one of the
best-known<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>unknown<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>writers out there.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="background: white;">
<i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Oddly enough, I have absolutely broken
through in France and Japan, and seem close to doing it in England. The U.S.,
however, has not yet fallen under my spell. But I’m still working on it.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Ali : It just isn’t fair. I mean, some of
my all-time favorite novels have come from your pen. Something’s not right
here.</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><b>Tom :</b> I couldn’t agree more, of course.
And I am trying very hard to write the best books of my career at this point in
my life. I may not always succeed, but I am always trying to deliver a very
strong story, one that delivers in the writing, the story itself, and what
lingers once the story has been put down, that strange, haunting aftermath.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="background: white;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Ali : Might the problem be that some
readers classify you as a “literary writer”?</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="background: white;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div style="background: white;">
<i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><b>Tom :</b> I am a literary writer in the sense that
the writing really matters to me, and I try to do it well. But I am, more than
anything, simply a storyteller, and for that reason I try not to abandon the
story to my prose. I want each to serve the other, and yes, that makes me
literary in that sense. That said, I would never write a novel in which the
main character is a cigarette butt floating in a urinal, or a novel about a
number, say eight, or a novel about a family so freakishly repellant that I
wouldn’t spend dinner with such people, much less the time it takes to read 500
pages.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Read the Full Interview </span><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.januarymagazine.com/profiles/cook.html">Here</a></span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tom’s work often features in
my best annual ‘<a href="http://pulppusher.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/ali-karims-best-of-2013.html">reads
of the year</a>’, such as his remarkable novel Sandrine’s Case which was
published in 2013 by Otto Penzler’s Mysterious Press and by Anthony Cheetham’s
Head of Zeus in Great Britain. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I wrote at the time –<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="background: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Cook
constructs his narrative like a courtroom drama, but this novel offers a much
more compelling tale about what actually led to the death of Sandrine, a woman
as enigmatic as the ancient history she taught and brooded upon. Cook deftly
explores the question of what we truly know about the people we love -- and, in
reflection, what we truly know about ourselves. This novel was published in
Britain as </span></i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1781855137?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creativeASIN=1781855137&linkCode=xm2&tag=thrash-21" target="_blank"><i><span style="background: white; color: #cc0099; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Sandrine</span></i></a><i><span style="background: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> (Head of Zeus).</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Read more </span><a href="http://januarymagazine.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/best-books-of-2013-crime-fiction.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Here</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, and you may be
amused to see that my review of this remarkable novel, has my thoughts
regarding Stephen King’s </span><a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/stephen-kings-joyland-online-carnival.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Joyland</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> just
above it. As book reviewers, we do what we can to support writers that help our
thinking, our insights into the world we find ourselves in. I am not ashamed to
state that I have felt my eyes moisten at the end of some of Tom Cook’s novels;
such has been the emotional impact his narrative skills and stories have brought
to bear on this reader.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I know Facebook gets much
maligned as a time-waster; but I have to temper that comment, that for many
writers who work on a keyboard all day; it provides a break from the swirl of
our thoughts as well as a quick way of keeping in touch with people [especially
when they are scattered globally]. I had grown fond of </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/thomas.cook.7374480?fref=ts"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thomas Cook’s presence on FB</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> as he had been putting up photographs of his travels,
with his beloved wife Susan and daughter Justine. I have been </span><a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/and-thing-about-shark-is-hes-got.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">fascinated by travel</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
and what it </span><a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/the-two-bucket-theory-versus-waste.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">does to our mind</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">,
and understanding of others, so I enjoyed seeing Tom Cook’s photographs. My
annual trips to </span><a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/bouchercon-2015-photo-finish.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bouchercon</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
have allowed me to traverse North America over the years, and with purpose – my
fascination with Crime, Mystery and Thriller fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rKKyZV4pSEo/WH-6zmPQ8HI/AAAAAAAACWE/K3mvW0JYxY42_fSAZV_4JbpgWzdaAoTQgCLcB/s1600/golden%2Bgate%2Bbridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rKKyZV4pSEo/WH-6zmPQ8HI/AAAAAAAACWE/K3mvW0JYxY42_fSAZV_4JbpgWzdaAoTQgCLcB/s640/golden%2Bgate%2Bbridge.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A specific series of photos
from Tom’s FB page haunted me – they were images of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">‘The saddest places on Earth’</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">. Like the magnetism of viewing a car
crash, I found the photographs intriguing as well as provoking deep thought.
During some correspondence with Tom, he indicated that he was considering
publishing a book featuring his travels to these sad places; regions on our
planet that today are solemn reminders of the dark side of humanity and our
plight here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then I heard the tragic news
in 2014 that Susan Terner passed away, leaving Tom and Justine alone. He wrote
an eloquent and heart breaking lament and celebration at the time about his
wife, which I have pasted the opening - <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Justine
and I would ask that you remember Susan fondly as one who danced on table tops
in Paris, Madrid and New York City; who belted songs and directed actors on the
stages of Cape Cod; who put every c<span class="textexposedshow">onceivable thing
in a plastic bag; who never saw a hammock or a cat she didn’t love; who claimed
to have only 30 pairs of shoes when she actually had 147 and who, when
confronted with that fact, declared that the additional 117 pairs in her
collection didn’t “count” because they were inexpensive; who staunchly held to
her non-belief through all her pain and anguish; who edited manuscripts so
superbly her method is taught in master classes; who incessantly corrected
everyone’s grammar, and once told a doctor to stop touching the bottom of his
shoes; whose true vocation, as I often reminded her, would have been to be the
Third Grade Teacher of the World.</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="textexposedshow"><br /></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>So let’s move these
recollections of mine to December 2016.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It was during the Peter
James Christmas Lunch, hosted by The Ivy, in London that I found myself seated
next to Alice Greary; a publicist who works with my very dear friends </span><a href="http://www.midaspr.co.uk/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tony Mulliken and
Sophie Ransom</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">. Over lunch, Alice and I
got talking and she remarked that she really enjoyed my 2009 interview with <a href="https://www.januarymagazine.com/profiles/cook.html">Thomas Cook at January
Magazine</a> and found it most useful in researching a book and author she was
working on. I asked which Author? Which she replied ‘Tom Cook’, and then told
me about a non-fiction book by Thomas Cook that Quercus Publishing were going
to release in 2017. </span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hjUbTrLogts/WH-8MOkwTyI/AAAAAAAACWo/0rGWguq6ZpcsP0qjcGkWGiRRkMBQcIqigCLcB/s1600/ALICE%2BGEARY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hjUbTrLogts/WH-8MOkwTyI/AAAAAAAACWo/0rGWguq6ZpcsP0qjcGkWGiRRkMBQcIqigCLcB/s640/ALICE%2BGEARY.jpg" width="598" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The book was titled </span><a href="https://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn=9781784295578"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tragic Shores : A Memoir of Dark Travel</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. The penny dropped, and I realised that it was indeed
the book that Tom had alluded to with the photos he posted on Facebook, detailing
some of the world’s saddest places. Poor Alice witnessed the heights that my
enthusiasm can scale, for when I get excited, I can become quite a sight. I
pleaded with Alice, that when the first review copies are available I implored
her to send me a copy.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Now we’re in January 2017.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The book arrived last
Friday, and was inside the package that made me yelp and gasp amusing my
colleagues; and the same book that I alluded to at the opening of this article.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I called Alice immediately
to thank her. I asked her that I had assumed that Tom’s book on the ‘Saddest
Places on Earth’ would have some illustrated pages from Tom’s Photos. Alice
confirmed that indeed, there will be photographic plates in the finished book;
but they were not present in the Galley-Proof. She kindly emailed me the
photos, which I have permission to re-print a few here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I also contacted Tom who
currently resides in Los Angeles and he too granted me permission to reproduce
any of his photos I wished; including the one that opens this article - of his
beloved Susan and himself in a Tropical forest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Alice also sent me this
synopsis of </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn=9781784295578">Tragic Shores : A Memoir of Dark Travel</a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">'I have come to thank dark places for
the light they bring to life.'<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thomas Cook has always been drawn to
dark places, for the powerful emotions they evoke and for what we can learn
from them. These lessons are often unexpected and sometimes profoundly
intimate, but they are never straightforward.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fe5f5Oqhh0E/WH-7S0BMg3I/AAAAAAAACWU/CQ64gjKOMRAuNvkQ9VIlwW2uDGJUiw7WgCLcB/s1600/hd%2Bcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fe5f5Oqhh0E/WH-7S0BMg3I/AAAAAAAACWU/CQ64gjKOMRAuNvkQ9VIlwW2uDGJUiw7WgCLcB/s400/hd%2Bcover.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With his wife and daughter, Cook travels
across the globe in search of darkness - from Lourdes to Ghana, from San
Francisco to Verdun, from the monumental, mechanised horror of Auschwitz to the
intimate personal grief of a shrine to dead infants in Kamukura, Japan. Along
the way he reflects on what these sites may teach us, not only about human
history, but about our own personal histories.</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">During the course of a lifetime of
traveling to some of earth's most tragic shores, from the leper colony on
Molokai to ground zero at Hiroshima, he finds not darkness alone, but a light
that can illuminate the darkness within each of us. Written in vivid prose,
this is at once a personal memoir of exploration (both external and internal),
and a strangely heartening look at the radiance that may be found at the very
heart of darkness.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Melancholia manifests itself
in many shapes and forms, and one way of managing this state from becoming high
anxiety, is [quoting Graham Greene] to write. In the hands of Thomas H Cook,
rarely has a feeling of Melancholia been as insightful as to our condition; our
humanity – and all from his mastery of the darkest edges of literature, Crime
and Mystery Fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I look forward to re-entering
the thoughts and emotions that Thomas Cook’s narratives provide; but this time,
it’s his first non-fiction work, a travelogue of sorts that appears as
insightful and as thought-provoking as his fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So to close this feature, I
leave you with a cover version of Leonard Cohen’s The Tower of Song, by the
Jesus and Mary Chain which not only provides the title for these thoughts of
mine, about one of the finest of Crime and Mystery Writers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You will be hearing from me
again, as I will be reviewing this long anticipated work by Tom Cook, who has also
kindly agreed to be interviewed by me again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Until then, we’ve made sure
that the Shots Bookstore has copies of Tragic Shores : A Memoir of Dark Travel
by Thomas H Cook available for pre-order [release date 6<sup>th</sup> April
2017] – </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://astore.amazon.co.uk/shotsmagazine-21/detail/184916326X">Here</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vTBt9tjbIM8" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Well, my friends are gone and my hair is grey<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I ache in the places where I used to play<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And I'm crazy for love but I'm not coming on<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I'm just paying my rent every day in the Tower of Song<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Leonard Cohen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.januarymagazine.com/profiles/cook.html">Click Here</a>, for
the comprehensive 2009 interview with Tom Cook from January Magazine, that
Alice Geary found on the Damp Floor of the Internet that Tom and I recorded
during Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I hope you found this
article of interest, and piqued your interest in the work of Thomas H Cook,
David Morrell and Louise Penny.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ali Karim<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">London, England, January
2017<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Addendum:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The only issue I see with
regard to British Publication of this highly anticipated first non-fiction work
by Thomas Cook, is that in the UK, the name </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu_tBIgvjC0"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thomas
Cook</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> is synonymous with the </span><a href="https://www.thomascook.com/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">nation’s most
well-known travel agency</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">; so some who
purchase <b>Tragic Shores : A Memoir of
Dark Travel </b>maybe a tad confused with this poignant travelogue; but will be
ultimately rewarded by writing of the highest order; even if this volume is not
what they anticipated by the Thomas Cook slogan <i>“Don’t just book it, Thomas Cook it!”.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gRU3nhTqkHU/WH-76m4bfMI/AAAAAAAACWk/doBxymugUY41aDSRr03FsTFpNIG3KkcOACLcB/s1600/signing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="468" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gRU3nhTqkHU/WH-76m4bfMI/AAAAAAAACWk/doBxymugUY41aDSRr03FsTFpNIG3KkcOACLcB/s640/signing.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pwCNo_daytQ/WIDU58LpgYI/AAAAAAAACXE/WSuphQFdYZss0BBAWdN_OIzL6cLvRAGHQCLcB/s1600/thomas%2Bcook%2Bcovers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pwCNo_daytQ/WIDU58LpgYI/AAAAAAAACXE/WSuphQFdYZss0BBAWdN_OIzL6cLvRAGHQCLcB/s640/thomas%2Bcook%2Bcovers.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Photos from Ali Karim, Thomas H Cook and Quercus Publishing reprinted with permission </i><br />
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Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-53072349151114079002017-01-10T03:31:00.001-08:002017-01-10T06:18:30.824-08:00“The Two Bucket Theory” versus “Waste Another Year”<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PDQk7Uarq2U/WHTES2Ml7XI/AAAAAAAACSM/W5x0ujRuqHc17l7mua4mKqbhqC2D3qQrwCLcB/s1600/badwater%2Bbasin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PDQk7Uarq2U/WHTES2Ml7XI/AAAAAAAACSM/W5x0ujRuqHc17l7mua4mKqbhqC2D3qQrwCLcB/s640/badwater%2Bbasin.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">While
in Dublin, Ireland between Christmas and New Year I spent much time with the
family, as well as in the embrace of my thoughts. I thought about the time </span><a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/and-thing-about-shark-is-hes-got.html" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I
spent in the Arabian Gulf</a><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> and at Sea back in the late 1980s; as well my
usual ruminations related to the past and how I came to be who I am, </span><a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/shake-hands-with-devil-c-2016-karim.html" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">from
my days as a Barman</a><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> to my present reality of an Industrial Chemist.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">These
are some thoughts from my <a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/im-accustomed-to-smooth-ride-by-ali.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">little black book</a>, that I record my thoughts and
episodes of contemplative naval-gazing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I've
been thinking a great deal, and reflecting upon on days now passed. When I was
young, my Father (the psychiatrist) would often explain to me that <a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/managing-reality-with-albert-camus_23.html" target="_blank">the formative years in childhood</a>, as well as moments of trauma shape ones'
personality. He would also indicate that though it is vital to understand ones
'self', to survive reality - but would warn that self-reflection has hidden
dangers because what we uncover is not always good.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">My
brother-in-law Gerry and I visited my beloved Father-in-law Mr Keogh yesterday
in the hospital. He's in his mid-nineties and not well currently, though he has
moments of lucidity which reminds me of the man he used to be - and when he
recognised me and smiled at my jokes as I held his hand, I felt good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Seeing
both my own Father Dr Karim and Mr Keogh my Father-in-Law's mental faculties in
decline is troubling. I'm writing away, shaping the memories I have of these
two men from these existential scribbles into the reality of my fiction. I
guess this is due to trying to bring back who [and what] these two men were;
not who they are now; their physical bodies and intellect now barely a husk of
who, and what they were in their prime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Being
back in Ireland has unlocked memories. Ireland was one of places I visited back
when worked a rota of 6-weeks 'on' in the Middle-East followed by 3-weeks 'off'
(when I would travel, on my own). The company would pay travel costs to the
value of return flights to London. For tax reasons, I could only spend 42 days
in the UK hence I got to see a bit of the world; and learned about reality, as
well as myself.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I
recall on my first trip to The Kingdom, while supervising loading operations on
a Crude Oil Tanker, one of the old-hands told me something that stayed with me.
It was in the early hours, we were on deck, measuring the cargo, taking samples
and as we did so, Bob explained 'when you work in Saudi Arabia, think of it as
being issued two buckets'. He continued talking as we worked away watching dawn
break over the ocean on the starboard side<i>.
'The first bucket is for the money you earn, and the second bucket is for the
shit you have to take. When the 'shit bucket' weighs more than the 'money
bucket', it's time to leave.'</i> He smiled <i>'the
analogy is the same for life, for when the shit you take becomes too much, it's
time to leave'</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I
was up early this morning as these memories plagued my dreams, as I thought of
that time in the Arabian Gulf and of Dr Karim and Mr Keogh and these thoughts,
these dreams found themselves embedded in my writing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The
two bucket theory is useful when contemplating our lives, for when the road
forks, it's useful to survey our two buckets.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I
also thought of a song I first heard on the Aramco US radio station I listened
to while stationed in The Kingdom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Sometimes,
going back in our memory helps us shape our futures, as we check the contents
of our two buckets, especially when we feel <i>low</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The
photo that starts these reflections, was taken many years ago, when I visited the <i>'lowest'</i> place in America; Badwater
Basin in Death Valley, California.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I
also thought of My Father and of My Father-in-Law. The significance of which is
only evident in my writing; for the memories of a man in his sick bed, are the
deeds of a Man in his Prime. I also thought of my children, and my Godson and
extended family, as age awaits them, <a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/monster-game.html">as do
their own two buckets</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Melancholia
expresses itself in ways we don't always understand until age comes upon us,
and then we combat it <a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/were-singing-song-so-wont-you-give-us.html">the
best way we can</a>.</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8-R_leIGrFs" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">"(Don't Go Back To)
Rockville" / R.E.M.<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Looking
at your watch a third time<br />
Waiting in the station for the bus<br />
Going to a place that's far<br />
So far away and if that's not enough<br />
Going where nobody says hello<br />
They don't talk to anybody they don't know<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">You'll
wind up in some factory<br />
That's full-time filth and nowhere left to go<br />
Walk home to an empty house<br />
Sit around all by yourself<br />
I know it might sound strange but I believe<br />
You'll be coming back before too long<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Don't
go back to Rockville, don't go back to Rockville<br />
Don't go back to Rockville and waste another year<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">At
night I drink myself to sleep<br />
And pretend I don't care that you're not here with me<br />
'Cause it's so much easier to handle<br />
All my problems if I'm too far out to sea<br />
But something better happen soon<br />
Or it's gonna be too late to bring you back<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Don't
go back to Rockville, don't go back to Rockville<br />
Don't go back to Rockville and waste another year<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It's
not as though I really need you<br />
If you were here I'd only bleed you<br />
But everybody else in town only wants<br />
To bring you down and that's not how it ought to be<br />
I know it might sound strange, but I believe<br />
You'll be coming back before too long<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Don't
go back to Rockville, don't go back to Rockville<br />
Don't go back to Rockville and waste another year<br />
Don't go back to Rockville, don't go back to Rockville<br />
Don't go back to Rockville and waste another year<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YKgIPQbhAj0/WHTF6A71ZqI/AAAAAAAACSg/0XPuD0U7I8IlXCEGppx-Y5Xl6_VmETwdgCLcB/s1600/barman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YKgIPQbhAj0/WHTF6A71ZqI/AAAAAAAACSg/0XPuD0U7I8IlXCEGppx-Y5Xl6_VmETwdgCLcB/s640/barman.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-16694812076921200102017-01-05T08:01:00.002-08:002017-01-05T08:30:49.854-08:00We're singing a song, so won't you give us a hand<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sY5C47jEZpY/WG5tOC1Mg3I/AAAAAAAACR8/iYkGAqMVQ4YA4SKREfTwYxo_wpJiVCx5ACLcB/s1600/saw%2Bdoctors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sY5C47jEZpY/WG5tOC1Mg3I/AAAAAAAACR8/iYkGAqMVQ4YA4SKREfTwYxo_wpJiVCx5ACLcB/s640/saw%2Bdoctors.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Whenever I feel a bit down,
and need to lift my spirits, I listen to the Irish Band </span><a href="http://sawdoctors.com/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Saw Doctors</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">. Within minutes, the
infectious beat, the self-deprecating lyrics, coupled to the humour of the absurd have me
tapping my toes, and singing along.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On New Year’s Eve 1990, my
wife Muriel and I danced to ‘I Useta Lover’ in Dublin as we started our
honeymoon, and I defy anyone not to feel their spirits lift singing along to
this wonderful song, and this most amusing video.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QtAxF3BQFRg" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘I Useta Lover’ was from
their <i>album “</i></span><i><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If This Is Rock and Roll, I Want My Old
Job Back”</span></i><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #292929; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">I have fallen for another she can make her
own way home<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
And even if she asked me now I'd let her go alone<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
I useta see her up the chapel when she went to Sunday mass<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
And when she'd go to receive, I'd kneel down there<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
And watch her pass<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
The glory of her ass<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #292929; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
I useta to love her, I useta love her once<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
A long, long time ago<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
I useta to love her, I useta love her once<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
A long long time ago<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
It's gone , all my lovin' is gone<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
It's gone , all my lovin' is gone<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #292929; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
D'you remember her collecting for concern on Christmas eve<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
She was on a forty eight hour fast just water and black tea<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
I walked right up and made an ostentatious<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
Contribution<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
And I winked at her to tell her I'd seduce her in the future<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
When she's feelin looser<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #292929; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
So now you know the truth of it she's no longer my obsession<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
Though the thoughts and dreams i had of her would take six months in confession<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
See i met this young one Thursday night and she's inta free expression<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
And her mission is to rid the world of this sinful repression<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
Then we had a session<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="color: #292929; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">I useta to love her, I useta love her once<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
A long, long time ago<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
I useta to love her, I useta love her once<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
A long long time ago<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
It's gone , all my lovin' is gone<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
It's gone , all my lovin' is gone<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #292929; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
It's gone, long, long gone<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
I have fallen for another and she can make her own way home<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="color: #292929; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Copyright:
P.Cunniffe/D.Carton/L.Moran/P.Stevens<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #292929; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Though one of the most life
affirming pieces of music to me, is The Saw Doctors live version of Joyce
Country Ceili Band. The link below is a live performance from Galway, and is wonderful,
makes your feet tap and your voice sing, as well as making you smile with its
absurd but gentle melody and verse. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F4MI9NG9qEA" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">We're the Joyce country ceili band</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Playing away and we're doing grand</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">We're singing a song won't you give us a hand</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">'cos we're the Joyce country ceili band</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Friday night , off we go</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Tune the fiddle , strain the bow</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Take it handy for the first few sets</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Sure there's hardly anyone listening yet</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Thomas and Mary out on the floor</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Well they never lost it, that's for sure</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">in his sparking shoes and his daz-white shirt</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">She's got a brand new perm</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">And a pleated skirt</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">We do do's and functions</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Weddings and wakes</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Meats and salads, buns and cakes</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Well if you need a few tunes just</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">give us a call<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">For the house the pub or the parish hall</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">There's a princess on the floor all night</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">She can fairly throw them shapes alright</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Howya Bridie are you on your own?</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">How're ya fixed far a spin back home</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">We're the Joyce country ceili band</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Playing away and we're doing grand</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">We're singing a song won't you give us a hand</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">'cos we're the Joyce country ceili band</span></span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #292929; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Copyright: P.Cunniffe/D.Carton/L.Moran/P.Stevens<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #292929; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I consider The Saw Doctors
from Galway, Ireland to be better than Seroxat for lifting the spirits, so pour
a Guinness and Jamie as a chaser and put the volume to 11. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oHr9ST-Km54/WG5qB8adpRI/AAAAAAAACRw/OgEy2Fvx-gYL0ONJfH0fM63X8sCcc1BHgCLcB/s1600/Boilermaker%2BGuinness%2Band%2BJameson%2B008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oHr9ST-Km54/WG5qB8adpRI/AAAAAAAACRw/OgEy2Fvx-gYL0ONJfH0fM63X8sCcc1BHgCLcB/s640/Boilermaker%2BGuinness%2Band%2BJameson%2B008.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And revel in the warm
hearted absurdity of the boys from Galway; for managing our moods is very important in
these days of geo-political strife, for the bark of the black dog is never far.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-45422861604379998942017-01-03T09:53:00.000-08:002017-01-03T10:42:17.942-08:00“And the thing about a shark is he’s got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll’s eyes.”<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IoDWnlvFTVU/WGvi2ihNExI/AAAAAAAACQ4/KGqwIGE17ckFP931fg_7aqIfAA2aMscWwCLcB/s1600/roy%2Bschdier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IoDWnlvFTVU/WGvi2ihNExI/AAAAAAAACQ4/KGqwIGE17ckFP931fg_7aqIfAA2aMscWwCLcB/s640/roy%2Bschdier.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">On the first day back at work; my memories of my days at sea as a
Chemical Surveyor and my adventures in the Arabian Gulf drifted back to me;
following a wonderful time in Ireland for New Year, traversing the Irish Sea. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I will share one memory from the 1980s, when I was stationed in the
Arabian Gulf where I worked as a Chemical Cargo Surveyor. There is no need to
read on, as life is short, and I am a bore. I only write down my anecdotes as
an aid to keep them from vanishing from my memory; and to help me examine and
understand who I have become, via the recollections of youth; as well as recording
the absurd aspects of my life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Back in the 1980s, cargo ships would load bulk Palm Oils, Palm Fatty
Acids and Veg Oils from South East Asia [Singapore etc]; discharge their cargo
in Rotterdam, then tank cleaning en-route to Saudi Arabia where they would load
Methanol [and other industrial chemicals], and then sail to Japan; discharge;
then tank clean while en-route to Singapore, where they would load Palm Oils,
and come back to Rotterdam. And the supply-chain circle would continue, Far
East, Europe and Middle East. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Naturally mixing edible food items and chemicals for transit [with tank
cleaning between cargoes] was not cool, due to possible contamination of the
edible oils; but back in those days, road tankers did the same - edible oils, tank
clean, then chemicals etc. Now bulk tankers [be they sea or road] - are now dedicated
to food or chemicals, to prevent cross contamination risks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It was a hard life, 6 weeks on with 3 weeks off, working as a Chemical Cargo
Surveyor in the Middle East; coping with the heat and erratic and long working
hours. I lost a lot of weight, during that time, so my overalls used to hang off my skin like a baggy jump suit, due to my weight loss.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Anyway; one time a Burmese ship arrived at Jubail port, KSA
[ex-Rotterdam] to load Celanese Grade Methanol. When I went on-board it was
obvious the crew had been on the Rum. Though the booze was now locked away, as
Saudi Customs Officials always boarded the ship to ensure all alcohol was
locked away. You didn’t need to be Uri Geller to ascertain that the Mariners
had been drinking, and I mean HARD drinking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Once the vessel was berthed and ‘customs cleared’, I got to work
inspecting the cargo tanks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The tanks were filthy, with the walls, the coils, pipes, hose-exchange all
smeared with the last cargo of PFAD [Palm Oil Fatty Acid Distillate]. It was
obvious the crew had been partying hard from Holland and didn’t tank clean. In
fact the chief officer was nowhere to be seen, so his XO was embarrassed as I
wrote a letter of protest, refusing to allow them to load the Saudi Methanol
cargo. The XO called the Captain who appeared calm, and told me to come back in
24 hours and he’ll have the tanks cleaned while berthed on the Jetty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">So the next day I returned, and immediately noticed that tanks hadn’t
been touched. The captain and crew had found the Chief Officer, who had locked
himself in a store room in the Engine Room; he was in a drunken stupor. He must
have stashed some of the Rum for himself while they were in port when they
entered Saudi waters. This was a No-No, as the penalty for drinking alcohol in
Saudi Arabia is severe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Chatting to one of the deck-hands, I was advised that the vessel had
indeed discharged their Palm Oil / PFAD in Rotterdam; and one of the Burmese
crew had gone on shore while she unloaded, and returned with Marijuana and Hardcore
Porn VHS tapes. During the voyage to Jubail, KSA instead of tank cleaning in
readiness to load high grade [Celanese] Methanol, they smoked dope and drank
Rum, watching Dutch Porn movies on VHS.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Anyway, when I failed the ship again on my second tank inspection; I
issued another letter of protest [at the state of the tanks] which we always
sent to the ships owners, when there is any issue with the ship – and I added
that I didn’t feel the crew to be competent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oKBlX4zs-AE/WGvjre6wJYI/AAAAAAAACRM/isWyjycSDk4U8ZVykiFJ7xwRFQfn4TiHwCLcB/s1600/Plimsoll-Lines-on-Ship.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oKBlX4zs-AE/WGvjre6wJYI/AAAAAAAACRM/isWyjycSDk4U8ZVykiFJ7xwRFQfn4TiHwCLcB/s400/Plimsoll-Lines-on-Ship.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Within 36 hours a new crew were sent. I arrived the following day back
at the Port just as the old crew were escorted off the ship and to the airport.
The new Captain indicated that rather than waste more money staying on the
berth and incurring port fees, they would buy some Methanol for tank cleaning
and go off and tank clean off-shore; returning only when they thought they
would pass my inspection for loading.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Three days later we get a call from the port, and rather than risk a
rejection again [berthing fees etc]; the Ships Master would pay for an
inspector to go aboard the ship by pilot-boat, and inspect the tanks at sea. Then
subject to approval, the vessel would come back to the berth for loading. So
off I went with my equipment and testing gear to the port and joined the pilot
boat. Curiously, I recall at the time when I embarked onto the pilot boat, it
reminded me of ‘The Orca’, the fishing boat that Quint [as played by Robert
Shaw] Captained in Spielberg’s JAWS. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Now when an ocean-going bulk chemical tanker is empty at sea – it rides
high in the water, like a cork in a water-trough; revealing many notches on the
hull’s Plimsoll line. Without cargo as ballast, an unloaded ship does bob-up
and down with the sea currents; as ballast and cargo balances the buoyancy and
stability of the Vessel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The sea that day was choppy with big swells. The pilot boat pulled alongside
the Burmese ship; the crew lowered a rope ladder over the bow; so slinging my
equipment over my shoulder I started up the rope-ladder like a pirate
clambering aboard, with trepidation as the ship bobbed up and down with the
heavy swells. I had barely reached the ladder, when the ship hit a really big swell,
and I went down under the waves. I held the rope ladder for dear life,
panicking. I held my breath clinging to the rope ladder, and tried to climb up
faster; but my billowing overalls were caught by the water currents, dragging
me back down to Davy Jones’ locker.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">As I finally broke the surface I felt something pulling, jerking me back
into the water. I looked up and the crew were shouting at me, pointing below
me, and frantically gesticulating to me, to come up the ladder quicker. I felt
something sharp tug at my overalls, and scratch my buttocks. As I looked over
my shoulder, down at the waves below, I saw a small shark had its teeth embedded
on the bum of my overalls and was thrashing trying to pull me back into the
Ocean. As I looked down, I saw it staring at me, with dead eyes, like a dolls
eyes. I grabbed my bag of sampling and test equipment, and furiously hit the
shark hard repeatedly, feeling it tug at my blue overalls. I finally dropped my
gear onto its head hard like a hammer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The shark fell back into the water below, with
a big splash, and then thrashed and attacked my sampling and test equipment
that I had used to defend myself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C80Gv3QRK68/WGvjgOUPEZI/AAAAAAAACRI/-y7ubkYXKjUJz9hG8DB12uotnwLubrNxACLcB/s1600/Batman66-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C80Gv3QRK68/WGvjgOUPEZI/AAAAAAAACRI/-y7ubkYXKjUJz9hG8DB12uotnwLubrNxACLcB/s640/Batman66-7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I climbed back on the ship rather fast, and was yanked on-board by the
Burmese deckhands. As I stood on deck, I noticed I had a big tear in my overalls
with my arse hanging out, which was cut [but were really only a couple of
scratches]. The Ship’s Medic cleaned the scratches, and gave me a clean pair of
overalls. The Captain appeared and passed me a bottle of Rum, which I necked,
before handing it back, half empty. We were not moored in Saudi Arabia so the
booze cabinet had been unlocked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Anyway, I soon discovered what had happened to attract the school of
sharks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">While the ship had anchored off-shore, and had been tank cleaning out in
the ocean; the cook’s assistant had been throwing the leftover food scraps from
the galley over the side of the ship [this is now barred under International
Maritime Organisation’s MARPOL regulations]. The food waste from the galley had
obviously attracted the sharks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">When I looked down over the side, I saw the fins in the water below and
thanked the God Poseidon that one of the bigger fuckers hadn’t taken a bite out
of my arse. I was also thankful to Poseidon for my weight-loss; as my baggy
overalls, flapping and billowing in the water had saved me, as the baby shark
had only scratched my skin, as the billowing overalls took most of the shark’s
bite, as its teeth tried to find my skin. I thought of the feature length Batman
TV film, when the same thing happened to the Dark Knight, except he was
climbing the rope ladder to a helicopter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">As I lost my sample and testing kit when I hit the shark’s head as it clung
to my blue overalls, I could only do a visual inspection on the vessel’s tanks,
but they appeared fine; so we soon sailed back to port, where we would load the
ship with Methanol.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The sailors gave me a guest cabin on the journey back to Port, which I
retained while I supervised the Methanol loading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">During the process, I spent time in my cabin once the Shore Pumps
started loading the cargo. I smiled as amongst the tatty paperbacks and VHS
tapes in the cabin; I found a copy of Spielberg’s JAWS [with Burmese subtitles]
as well as a copy of the Novel by Peter Benchley. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<em><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-style: normal;">As I
looked out of the port-hole from my cabin [on the Starboard side] facing the
ocean; I thought of the Mariners on the
USS Indianapolis and the remarkable speech that writers </span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-style: normal;">Howard Sackler,</span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "lucida sans unicode" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-style: normal;">Robert Shaw and </span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-style: normal;">John Milius</span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-style: normal;"> came up with for JAWS, nailing Quint’s motivation for
battling the Great White Shark –<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-style: normal;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u9S41Kplsbs" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<em><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-style: normal;"> “</span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Sometimes that shark
looks right at ya. Right into your eyes. And the thing about a shark is he’s
got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll’s eyes.”</span></em><em><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Thankfully,
the shark that took a bite out of my overalls was a baby, unlike the one Quint
battled. Though it was the Shark’s Eyes that remain with me today, for they
were lifeless, black, like a doll’s eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I
also recalled a favorite line from Stephen King, about how the arts help manage
the nightmare that is our reality from time to time; even if our recollections now
exist as mere fragments of memories from those days now passed.</span></div>
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<em><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">“Life</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">isn't a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>support system for art</em>. It's the other way around.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Read More <a href="https://neilchughes.com/2013/03/10/the-indianapolis-speech-by-robert-shaw-in-jaws-1975/">Here</a>
about the remarkable writing behind Quint’s monologue about what happened to
the mariners of the ill-fated <em><span style="font-style: normal;">USS Indianapolis, from
JAWS which remains one of the most memorable pieces of screen writing.<o:p></o:p></span></em></span></div>
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<em><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-style: normal;">Happy
New Year<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-79741613904043811842016-12-24T12:07:00.000-08:002016-12-24T13:53:15.680-08:00Monster Game<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So the first evening of my
Winter Holiday started last night, with some naval gazing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Annually I look forward to
the Business Shutdown during the Christmas and New Year Holiday. It is a chance
to unwind my mind, get away from fixing problems and the ringing phone; giving
me a pause to enjoy sharing time with the family, catching up with my reading
and writing, but most crucially to reflect and take stock of events in this
plane of existence, placing them into some form of context, with my own life. I
also consider how I have changed progressing through life as I age. One must
always consider how the overcoming of obstacles changes us; so we should pick
our challenges and obstacles carefully, for they alter us, as well as the direction
of the path we find ourselves on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Last night was a late one, as
I was trapped in deep thought with my cognition encouraged by some Dark Rum and
Ginger Beer infused with fresh Limes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2kqZ9_zIEw0/WF7TAaQ9OEI/AAAAAAAACQE/k4iMNL2itCkKrFaT4iJjWgfowBAaRB37wCLcB/s1600/kraken%2Bbottle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2kqZ9_zIEw0/WF7TAaQ9OEI/AAAAAAAACQE/k4iMNL2itCkKrFaT4iJjWgfowBAaRB37wCLcB/s400/kraken%2Bbottle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When I got home, traversing
atrocious weather with </span><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/23/uk-weather-storm-barbara-brings-severe-gales-millions-start/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Storm Barbara</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> [making
driving conditions troubling]; the family had to make a decision about what we
would do over the Holiday. With my beloved Father-in-Law Gerard Keogh in serious
ill health and hospitalised in Dublin, we have decided as a family to head
across the Irish Sea to not only spend time with him; but also to take some
pressure off my Brother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law who look after him. Mr Gerard
Keogh is well into his Nineties now; a gentleman as well as a fighter, for he
keeps overcoming the adversities that age brings to us all. I admire those who
fight adversity and battle the Monsters in our midst, especially those who confront
failing health.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My own Father Dr Syed
Karim’s health is not so good either; though he is a tad younger [in his
mid-eighties]. In consequence we have decided to have my parents over for
Christmas Dinner tomorrow, before the family pack up and head to Ireland. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The current health of my
Father and Father-in-Law rests heavily upon my mind; for something I am writing
is related to these two most misunderstood men. I would like my writing project
completed as soon as practicable, so I can read some of it to them. As ever,
time is not on my side as the speed of my own writing [which competes against
my business, family and book reviewing obligations]; when striated against
their declining health - troubles me. Though despite the mental faculties of
both Karim and Keogh senior [which are in decline with the ravages of age]; I still
wish to sit with them, and read something from my mind that I feel has some significance;
namely resonating their legacy and influence on the reality I have uncovered about
them, from my own dark imagination and from some long lost secrets of
Post-World War Two Europe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am reminded of the legacy
that the lives of our elders had, by some words from an early track by Pink
Floyd, entitled <i>Free Four</i> from their
1972 Album </span><a href="https://vimeo.com/144057442"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Obscured by Clouds</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> [originally commissioned by Film Director </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Barbet
Schroeder].</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The memories of a man in his old age,</span></i><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Are the deeds of a man in his prime.</span></span></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FPSb5QjgjAc" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I also thought of this old Pink
Floyd song [earlier in the year], when I read </span><a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/the-one-man-cometh.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Andrew Gross’ The One Man</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> for its narrative details the wartime adventures of an
elderly American [with failing health] as he is cajoled by his daughter to
retell what he did during World War II.
Curiously, my own current writing project delves into the early lives of my own
Father, the mysterious Dr Karim and the enigmatic Mr Keogh [my French-Irish
Father-in-Law], and the significance of their own deeds, in a dangerous Post-World
War II Europe; deeds now lost in time, and held in my imagination, and their
failing memories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Andrew Gross’ </span><a href="http://wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/the-one-man-lands-in-europe.html"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The One Man</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">,
like the most interesting of narratives indicated to me that the trick is not to
reveal where the seams between fact, merge into fiction, as the tale is retold
or reimagined. In Gross’ narrative, he fictionalised the life of his own
Father-in-Law, who incidentally managed to see some of the completed manuscript
for <i>The One Man</i>, but never saw its publication
for he tragically passed away just weeks before the book hit the bookstands,
earlier this year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So last night, we made the necessary
arrangements for the whole family to travel to Dublin, like we have done over
the years traversing the Irish Sea by Ferry. The memories that the children
have of those journeys, as do Muriel and I; remain special like many of the
deeds from our past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have a deep love for
Ireland, first visiting the Emerald Isle back in the 1980s, as I worked in the
Middle East, as a Petroleum Chemist surveying and inspecting bulk liquid and
gaseous cargoes [as Iran vs Iraq War One, was closing]. I learned a little
about life offshore and at sea during that time, working six-weeks on, and
three-weeks off on a rota. I incidentally read a lot of books while stationed
in the Arabian Gulf, as Mariners are often well-read folk, with time on their
hands. Seafarers are also a most </span><a href="http://www.unmuseum.org/kraken.htm"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">superstitious</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> bunch. You’ll never find a <i>13 Tank</i>, on a Chemical or Crude Oil Vessel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The memories of a particular
Chief Officer [from my time in the Middle East] came back to me last night, as
I enjoyed some Dark Rum. His name eludes me as it is lost in the depths of my
memory, but I can still picture his face; now just an image from days now
passed. He was the XO on a regular vessel which loaded 300,000 Tonnes of </span><a href="https://www.celanese.com/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Celanese grade
Methanol</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> from Jubail [Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia] for Japan on a dedicated route, back and fro traversing the
Arabian Gulf, Indian Ocean and the Pacific. I spent much time on that vessel,
during which the XO introduced me to a drink he called <i>‘The Perfect Storm’</i> [which is referred to in America as <i>‘A Dark and Stormy Night’</i>]. The drink is
one part Dark Rum to three parts Ginger Beer, with fresh Lime in a chilled
glass filled with ice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">While supervising the
custody transfer and loading process or cargo operations, we would pass the
time drinking Rum and he would tell me tales of the mysteries of the sea, like
the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_monster"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Monsters such as The Kraken</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. He was a walking library on the legends and mysteries
of the sea, and I would be fascinated listening to him; for like many of us, we
fear what we term Monsters, and the Monstrous; which for me consist of the
Horrors of this World, this Existence, with the knowledge that when it comes to
Monsters, they are indeed Legion. Some even wear our own skin, and hide among our number.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So after writing away last
night while knocking back the </span><a href="http://www.krakenrum.com/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dark Kraken Rum</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
as I celebrated the start of my Winter Holiday; the theme of Monsters kept
encroaching upon my thoughts [and writing] as did the upcoming journey to
Ireland with memories of days now passed; my time as a Maritime Chemist, as
well as the time spent with my family in Ireland when the children were young, all
came back to me – especially the MONSTER GAME.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I used to enjoy playing with
our Children, Sophia, Alexander and Miriam when they were young while we
visited relatives and friends in Ireland. Life was less complex in those days
when the responsibilities I shouldered were not as onerous as they are today. I
introduced our Children as well as their Nephews Jeffery and Richard [my
Godson], as well as Niece Jillian, and their friends, young Conor and Ciara to
my MONSTER GAME.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">MONSTER GAME was something I
would play to amuse the Children, but it also had a more serious aspect,
something that I hoped would stimulate them and give them the confidence to overcome
even the most insurmountable of odds. As worthy as this all sounds, I wanted to
prepare their developing minds for the dangers of this world, all in the
context and safety of a game; and one that like Life, contains a Monster.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For MONSTER GAME, I would
construct an obstacle-course of sorts in the garden, made [or rather
improvised] from Toys, Ladders, Tools, Skipping Ropes, Swings, Bikes, pretend
“Land-Mines”, Quicksand, Paddling Pools, Sand Pit, Tightropes and much, much
else, all laid-out into a giant maze. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Rules for MONSTER GAME
were simple -</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[a] You had to overcome the obstacle-course
to reach the finish line in the quickest time, touching the wall marked ‘THE
END’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[b] You had to do this with
a Monster pursuing you, and of course I was the Monster, and gave them all a
weighted head-start depending upon their age. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If the Monster caught up
with them before they could touch the wall marked ‘the end’, they would lose to
the Monster.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We used to have great fun,
and even when exhausted, I would smile when I heard <i>‘Come on Uncle Ali, play another MONSTER GAME’</i> from Richard my
Godson. Richard would be amused, when I told him that he is special, having a
Godfather who was an atheist, but a resourceful one, and one who would watch
over him like Don Corleone, so if anyone messed with him, they would have to
fear the wrath of the Atheist Godfather as my reach is wide and long, as I know
many, many people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Occasionally my Godson Richard
would recall those times when he was an infant; and remind me of the fun of the
MONSTER GAME. I look back at that time [close to two decades ago] with
affection, and how I enjoyed watching the Children overcome the hurdles, the
obstacles and maze, racing to the end and touching the wall, before the Monster
caught them. For me the MONSTER GAME is about the reality of our existence, and
our ability to overcome the obstacles in our path, both physically as well as
mentally with an awareness that time is always a factor, and that there is
always a monster behind us; one who will destroy us if we fall. But MONSTER
GAME is forgiving, as long as you pick yourself up after a fall and keep running,
for to succeed in MONSTER GAME, is to never give in, for there is always hope
when we are resilient and resourceful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As an analogy, MONSTER GAME for
me is preparation for life; for there are obstacles in our lives, moments where
our situation appears hopeless, the odds in our success being long, and of
course there are indeed Monsters waiting for us; many wearing our skins.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Unlike the children who
played MONSTER GAME with me close to two decades ago in Dublin; many children
are not so fortunate to practise survival skills in a cognitive and physical
game. For some children, there is no dry-run, for the MONSTER GAME is real for
them, so while some manage to succeed, others do not, for the ‘real world’
MONSTER GAME has consequences, as we see in the Children from the ranks of the
Bullied, the Brutalised and Abused, the ones born into Poverty and those
trapped in War Zones like Aleppo, who play MONSTER GAME for real.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This year we as a family
will be donating to </span><a href="http://www.savethechildren.org/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Save the Children</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, and
I would urge you to please consider donating whatever you can afford to assist
Children who have to play MONSTER GAME for real.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">More Information about the
work of Save the Children and how to donate is available </span><a href="http://www.savethechildren.org/"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">here</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So as the Karims prepare to travel
to Ireland, to be with the Keoghs, may we wish you all a very Merry Christmas,
and let’s hope we can overcome the Monsters that may appear in our path as 2017
arrives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I wondered why I wrote this piece? I recalled Graham
Greene explaining why some of us feel compelled to transcribe our thoughts onto
paper -<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Writing is a form of therapy;
sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose, or paint can manage
to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a
human situation.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<em><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sláinte</span></em><em><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 115%;"> to my writing and reading
friends; for many of us, the transcribed thoughts of ourselves and others, are ways that some of us deploy to retain our sanity. </span></em></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Monster Game © 2016 A Karim<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-45619222591442503952016-12-20T09:52:00.000-08:002016-12-20T10:06:36.825-08:00Shake Hands with the Devil (c) 2016 A Karim <br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C2dJUx3ac4k/WFluo2RvrfI/AAAAAAAACPs/eB2g7R5lN9knVwxTF9KhBnhKoU6yb67aACLcB/s1600/IMG_6660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C2dJUx3ac4k/WFluo2RvrfI/AAAAAAAACPs/eB2g7R5lN9knVwxTF9KhBnhKoU6yb67aACLcB/s640/IMG_6660.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">“May
you live in interesting times”</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> the Chinese proverb says, and no one can
doubt that 2016 has certainly been interesting. When faced with a traumatic
fork in the road, I find memories of days now passed, become unlocked. Stuff I
rarely think about, stuff of minutiae, rand<span class="textexposedshow">om
memories resurface for an instance, lucidly and then vanish back into the dark
recesses of our consciousness again.</span></span><br />
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I returned to my days as a barman [and doorman] when I
was a student. Perhaps it was due to the liberal [and medicinal] doses of Johnny
Walker Black Label last night, fighting my chest cold; or perhaps it was the
contemplation and concerns of regime change in North America following the
recent victory by Donald Trump and his unspeakable cabal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I recalled a particular ‘regular’ in the Snooty Fox; the
Bar I worked in over thirty years ago in Chester. He was a solitary type and no
matter how hard we tried to engage him in conversation, he would blank us, and
just smile and avert his gaze. It was not a comforting smile, more akin to a
sneer. He came in on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday Night, for a couple of
years and was always alone. We never discovered his name. None of the girls
behind the bar would serve him, for they said he was creepy and made them feel
uncomfortable with his smile, which was really a sneer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Three decades on, I found myself wondering whatever
happened to him. He always sat against the bar alone. He never spoke to anyone,
always solitary and always left alone. He would watch people discreetly from
his bar stool, from the corner of his eyes, but never caught anyone’s gaze. He
would drink five pints of Stones Bitter each night. He never spoke, apart from
when he grunted ordering his beer. Occasionally we would see his lips move
subtly, as if he were talking silently to himself; except for one night. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">It was as a Saturday, I opened up the bar. Doorman <i>Big Chris</i> was ill, so later <i>Spike</i> and I manned 'the door'. The
'loner' bloke [the silent and weird one] was leaving. As he left, this time his
gaze held mine. He clasped my hand in a hard grip and very weirdly whispered <i>'shake hands with the devil'</i>. His hand
was icy, and I felt the hairs on my body become erect and I felt a chill come
over my body as I stared into his eyes and the troubling smile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">He winked before eventually releasing my hand. There was <i>knowingness</i> in his eyes as he continued
to hold my gaze; grinning menacingly before buttoning up his coat and vanishing
into the night. <i> Spike</i> and I watched him from ‘the door’.
Before he turned into Frodsham Street, he paused and looked back at us under
the glow of a street-lamp. He had an arm outstretched. It pointed to the full
Moon above us. When we looked back down, he was gone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">We never saw him again, though we would speculate as to
who he was, or might have been. <i>Spike</i>
postulated that he was ex-Army, by the way he walked, his gait and his attire.
But no one really knew <i>who</i> he was, or
<i>why</i> he was. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">So with the World in geo-political turmoil as we face
2017, I wondered last night where he went? And who he was; now existing as just
a shadow trapped in my memory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I don't know why I thought of that 'odd' thirty-year old memory
last night in my dreams. Perhaps it is due to the <i>Cassandra Complex</i> that I suffer from time-to-time related to what
so many people just did in North America; voting to elect a dangerously
unstable man Donald Trump to the highest seat in the World.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">One should be aware that when you <i>shake hands with the devil</i>, there are consequences. Let’s hope
sense prevails with the imminent regime change in North America as they lurch
toward the Right Wing of the Political Spectrum. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Human nature has a troubling side as the Devil rides amongst
us, often in disguise but occasionally he reveals himself, even if it is at
times in our memory of days now passed, like the dreams of Cassandra or the
result of an overactive imagination. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I prefer the latter over what Cassandra saw in her
dreams. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Photo Top (c) 2016 A Karim [New Orleans, Louisiana]<br />
Photo Bottom (c) 1969 20th Century Fox [The Planet of the Apes]<br />
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Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-51043808831115083632015-07-22T13:32:00.003-07:002015-07-22T13:32:58.945-07:00The Parallax View<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5QuRuodfrR8/Va_7yNSYmQI/AAAAAAAAB5k/lHB0GFX9sX4/s1600/the-parallax-view-still.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5QuRuodfrR8/Va_7yNSYmQI/AAAAAAAAB5k/lHB0GFX9sX4/s640/the-parallax-view-still.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="background: white; color: #181818; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“If you begin to understand what you are
without trying to change it, then what you are undergoes a transformation.”</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #181818; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jiddu Krishnamurti<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘Self-Awareness’ increases as we age, and is most evident
in those that ‘think’ and contemplate their place in this shared reality, and
therefore can cope better than those that live like dust particles in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m5JnJBq2AU">Brownian Motion</a> tube,
unthinking and buffeted by the random wind we term fate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Today, something happened in my lunch hour that illustrated
the causal link between what I saw [and considered] about to happen to me, and
my reaction to what appeared on my ‘Event Horizon’. What I saw, and interpreted
through the prism of my consciousness was wrong, totally wrong. The stimulus of
the approaching ‘event’, was filtered through my consciousness, and as I got
ready to confront what I perceived to be trouble and braced myself for what I perceived
to be danger, I understood why I made this miscalculation. It was much later when
I ruminated over the incident, and became ‘self-aware’, I </span><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">realized</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> I had viewed the upcoming event through </span></span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/nov/19/the-parallax-view-kennedy-assassination" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">a
parallax view</a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. The conclusion I came to as I saw events unfurl in front of
me, was wrong, but most crucially I understood why I had seen things through a parallax,
because I understood myself – with due consideration of my frame of mind and frame
of reference - that was specific to that situation, and the context of my
thinking at that exact time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p7U4JK-TUWo/Va_8mRRQkWI/AAAAAAAAB6E/5HJpNTdrOxA/s1600/beatty%2Bon%2Ba%2Bplane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p7U4JK-TUWo/Va_8mRRQkWI/AAAAAAAAB6E/5HJpNTdrOxA/s400/beatty%2Bon%2Ba%2Bplane.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So before I detail the incident, let’s take a look at my
frame of reference, what my mind was engaged with, grappling with - when the
incident kicked off, because from that I </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">realized</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> I viewed the event through a parallax.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am living under a great deal of stress currently, and I
think [with all due modesty] I’m managing it well, though it is hard on the
mind. Specifically, I have our children scattered around the world, my wife is
away looking after her elderly father, while my own elderly parents take some
of my time; being the eldest son, and the one who lives closest by.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The business I co-founded over a decade ago is going like
a freight train, which is great, but takes a huge slug of my time to manage as
I’m not involved in the distribution of Baked Beans and Toilet Rolls, but
problematical and heavily regulated products. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have agreed to work, in a senior role and in a pro-bono
capacity on a major event this autumn [Fall], and the time is getting closer,
and expectations high. When I ponder in my dark moments why I agreed, back in 2012
in a bar in <a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/fantastic-four-head-to-st-louis.html">St
Louis</a>, MO to carry out this role, I realise I did so, as a way of saying thanks
to the people who have given me <a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/bouchercon-2014-long-beach-goodbye-part_19.html">so
much pleasure over the years at these events</a>. Coupled to that, I have been
asked to be a proposed speaker at an upcoming <a href="https://vimeo.com/50383392">TED TALK</a>; something that is as prestigious
as it is time consuming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FoJ24j0-Qlg/Va_78S2Ji1I/AAAAAAAAB5s/SSmzYkzHr00/s1600/parallax%2Btables.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FoJ24j0-Qlg/Va_78S2Ji1I/AAAAAAAAB5s/SSmzYkzHr00/s400/parallax%2Btables.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I also sit on two Boards, chair a working group, am a
Company Secretary, and a Fellow of three Institutes, and a literary judge for </span><a href="http://thecwa.co.uk/the-daggers/categories/goldsboro-gold/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Crime
Writers Association</a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, Assistant Editor at </span><a href="http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">www.shotsmag.co.uk</a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
- so I am basically a busy bloke.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">How I cope, is a combination of a very understanding
family, hyper organisation and my <a href="http://harrogateinternationalfestivals.com/yourebooked/2010/11/ali-karim-the-worlds-biggest-crime-fiction-fan/">obsession
with crime, mystery and thrillers</a> which is my method of coping with reality
and life, as this short BBC TV interview from World Book Night in 2011,
indicates.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G65uk9RqfMw" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">An active imagination and an addiction to reading [and
watching] crime, mystery and thrillers can also have an effect on your
cognition that you need to aware of. One such effect is a heightened sense of
awareness, which some would call paranoia. Excessive reading about <a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2007/12/case-of-grand-larsson.html">the
dark side of human nature</a> has consequences. I find it allows me to cope
with life, a distraction to keep my consciousness occupied, trapped, engaged
and away from rumination and dark thoughts about our <i>‘existence’</i>; something that troubles many of us manifesting itself
as <a href="http://atheism.about.com/od/existentialistthemes/a/angst.htm">‘existential
angst’</a>. </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bi29q6VnOfU/Va_7nDmNRVI/AAAAAAAAB5c/mUpX9jCLwlM/s1600/e%2Bis%2Bfor%2Bexistential.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bi29q6VnOfU/Va_7nDmNRVI/AAAAAAAAB5c/mUpX9jCLwlM/s320/e%2Bis%2Bfor%2Bexistential.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The problem is that all </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">this
“living in my head”</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, has another side-effect, which when all things are
considered, is actually useful – the heightened sense of awareness, and
therefore becoming actively ‘self-aware’ coupled with an understanding on how
disingenuous can be our ability to ‘rationalise’ our actions, “as to” the situation
we find ourselves in – and therefore justifying our actions, in the theatre of
life, and the ashes of our death.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today’s
Event Horizon <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today, I woke with a troubled mind as I have much going
on externally, as well as internally in my mind. My ruminations create stress,
which I try my very best to channel in a positive manner. Over the years, I
have found as uncomfortable as it is to grapple with the stress created by a
troubled mind, the ruminations of my consciousness often result in finding
solution[s] to what is troubling me. I find it very useful in <a href="http://www.hazchemnetwork.co.uk/item.asp?NewsID=106">problem solving and
in business</a>, especially as the ruminations are often prompted by reading
detective novels. I also find the act of
writing helps ease the existential angst that are my thoughts, once committed
onto paper like <a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/life-isnt-support-system-for-art-its.html">here</a>,
<a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/managing-reality-with-albert-camus_23.html">here</a>,
<a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/when-road-forks.html">here</a>
and expanded upon as my <a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/im-accustomed-to-smooth-ride-by-ali.html">world
view here</a>, I feel a weight lift. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Anyway, with a very busy and troubling start to the day,
I went to Tesco, a local supermarket to get my lunch, a Tuna and Cucumber
sandwich and some Cranberry juice. On the way back to my car, as I unlocked the
door, I heard a shout.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Hey,
You!”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> I ignored the shouting as I unlocked my car door.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Hey,
You!”</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> He shouted again, louder and as I turned my head, he was
running toward me. He was a big bloke, mid-twenties all skinhead and muscle
with a face </span><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">molded</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> into an ugly grimace. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7b6DhICgHZs/Va_8FfHRdTI/AAAAAAAAB50/Ln718txWA1M/s1600/seattle%2Btower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7b6DhICgHZs/Va_8FfHRdTI/AAAAAAAAB50/Ln718txWA1M/s640/seattle%2Btower.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Hey,
You!”</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> He shouted again. People were looking over as he raced
toward me. I </span><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">realized</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> I was at an event horizon, something was going to happen.
Due to my stressed mind, I threw my Tuna Sandwich and bottle of Cranberry Juice
into the car, shut the door, and braced myself. In that split second, I had
thought he was some thug, and perhaps was bringing trouble to my door. Due to
my troubled mind, circled with worries and stress, I had decided, fuck it, if
he wanted a fight, he’d get one. With many onlookers, I </span><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">realized</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> I would have
witnesses so I turned toward him and made myself rigid and braced for an
attack. I recalled my youth, and the fights and thought if he throws a punch, I
will not only defend myself and though I’m a middle-aged businessman, and my
stamina is not what it used to be, I knew I could take him down, I just needed
him to throw the first punch, and then I’d knock him down, hard. The act of
defending myself would be helpful, a cognitive release; like an archer pulling
back a bow and releasing all that kinetic energy with a solid defensive blow,
so I felt my arms tense, muscles locked and eyes ready.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“What’s
you problem?”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> I said cautiously as he approached.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Not
mine, yours”,</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> he said pointing at my rear tyre.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With one eye on the big bloke, and the other
on the tyre, I saw a sliver glint.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I
noticed the nail in your tyre, and when I saw you approach your car…”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> His
face was no longer coated with the visage of aggression, but with a warm smile.
<i>“I’d get that looked at sooner than later”</i>
he continued.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I thanked the man profusely, and realised
that I had viewed the incident in parallax, allowing my stressed mind, and my
paranoia fuelled by reading crime / thriller fiction to totally misinterpret the
situation I saw unfurl in front of my eyes.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TI-ku6_ylU8/Va_8QGyhbgI/AAAAAAAAB58/HPRnnSmKRZw/s1600/tyre.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TI-ku6_ylU8/Va_8QGyhbgI/AAAAAAAAB58/HPRnnSmKRZw/s400/tyre.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As I sat waiting at ATS for my tyre to be
checked, I thought of how treacherous our cognition can become, given the right
situation and circumstance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I also thought of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/nov/19/the-parallax-view-kennedy-assassination">Warren
Beatty, and Alan J Pakula</a>, and I felt a calmness spread over me as I again
understood myself, and the problems and stress that circled me like wild horses
started to dissipate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: left;">I also felt a wave of </span><em style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: left;"><span style="background: white; font-style: normal;">déjà vu, as if this had happened to me before, as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7ooqpI3Fr0">Membrane Theory postulates</a>.
Either way, at least I thought through and analysed my actions, and therefore helped
understand myself.</span></em></div>
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<i><span style="background: white; color: #181818; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Greater in battle,</span></i><i><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="background: white;">than the man who would conquer</span> <span style="background: white;">a
thousand-thousand men,</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">is he who would conquer</span> <span style="background: white;">just one —</span> <span style="background: white;">himself.</span></span></i><i><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Gautama Buddha<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-29GCjMLin1U/Va_8vxV5cQI/AAAAAAAAB6Q/cQvrdgUgiKY/s1600/Parallax_View_movie_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-29GCjMLin1U/Va_8vxV5cQI/AAAAAAAAB6Q/cQvrdgUgiKY/s640/Parallax_View_movie_poster.jpg" width="420" /></a></div>
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Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-40309597065675365112015-06-27T05:28:00.000-07:002015-06-27T09:51:26.150-07:00“Life isn't a support system for art. It's the other way around.” Stephen King<div style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 4.5pt;">
<span style="line-height: 19.3333339691162px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/131389312?color=ffffff&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <a href="https://vimeo.com/131389312">True Detective Season 2 Main Titles</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/patrickclair">Patrick Clair</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.5pt; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.5pt;">Last year, </span><a href="http://www.hazchemnetwork.co.uk/item.asp?NewsID=106" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.5pt;">I became obsessed by Nic
Pizzolatto's TRUE DETECTIVE</a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.5pt;">, and exposure to this remarkable TV Miniseries
still affects my thinking, and my world-view. It reintroduced me to my early
reading of Howard Philips [HP]H. P. Lovecraft, Robert Chambers, Gothic stuff -
the Existentialist and Philosopher/Writers including Stoics such as Marcus
Aurelius, but especially</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.5pt;"> </span><a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=201100959979792" href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/managing-reality-with-albert-camus_23.html" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.5pt;">Albert Camus, Sartre, Freddy Nietzsche</a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.5pt;"> and many, many others.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.5pt; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9kkg5pvQc-Q/VY6V_tjK-eI/AAAAAAAAB3w/rBoUFseIGqQ/s1600/td.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="369" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9kkg5pvQc-Q/VY6V_tjK-eI/AAAAAAAAB3w/rBoUFseIGqQ/s640/td.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.5pt;">The exposure to </span><a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/true-detective-obsession.html" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.5pt;">TRUE
DETECTIVE</a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.5pt;">, was wonderful, as I am now a different person, in terms of the
way I interpret the context of my existence, and those I share my time and
thinking with. So my re-interpretation of those works from my youth, is
different today, very different - but perhaps another key aspect of </span><a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/from-eric-zann-to-bungalow-house.html" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.5pt;">TRUE
DETECTIVE</a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.5pt;">, were the new writers and philosophers I encountered, such as</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.5pt;"> </span><a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=25532559346" href="http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/01/30/the-most-shocking-thing-about-hbos-true-detective/" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.5pt;">Thomas
Ligotti, Laird Barron, Joe Pulver</a><span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.5pt;">and
many others, and discovered the Antinatalists such as Emil Coran, Arthur
Schopenhauer et al, </span><a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/the-weird-and-cosmic-world-of-thomas_12.html" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.5pt;">and
so my thinking was hijacked</a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.5pt;">.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AX7bJT7RQwo/VY6Wk9webzI/AAAAAAAAB34/7i1uU944kPc/s1600/E.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="386" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AX7bJT7RQwo/VY6Wk9webzI/AAAAAAAAB34/7i1uU944kPc/s640/E.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 14.5pt;">So Season 2 of TRUE DETECTIVE uncoiled itself last week, and
again, it has dominated my thinking. After a second viewing of episode one, the
excitement and anticipation of episode two is like an itch I can't stop
scratching, as a huge slug of my cognition, my daily thinking is devoted to
exploring this TV show, its themes, its core and poke the escalating cynicism
we have toward reality.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.5pt; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">This may make me sound mentally ill, but I really don't care.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.5pt; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Many with less patience, or are less aware of the perceived
belief of having 'skin' in the game [we call life], have been perplexed by the
opening episode. Not me, as I see the strands of Pizzolatto's narrative is
revealing - like an angry river, leading to a bay, which on its journey is
allowing us to observe the absurdity of this existence, though the parallax of
another man's imagination - and a team assembled around him, to craft into
physical reality from the fevered, and existential dreams of his consciousness,
a shape we can see, in our own reality. A shape that when it emerges is as
disturbing as it is curiously uplifting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.5pt; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Imagine my surprise, when the show aired last week, that the
title track, crafted to the surreal titles, is <a href="http://truedetectiverumors.com/2015/06/26/now-you-can-learn-all-about-leonard-cohens-nevermind-the-true-detective-season-two-title-song/">NEVERMIND
by LEONARD COHEN</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.5pt; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">So Season 2 of TRUE DETECTIVE has me returning to my love of <a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=38026784643" href="https://www.facebook.com/leonardcohen" style="cursor: pointer;"><span style="color: #3b5998; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Leonard Cohen</span></a>,
and in so doing, I have been re-evaluating his body of work; and I have to
admit that his last album, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_Problems">POPULAR PROBLEMS</a>
[from which T Bone Burnett selected NEVERMIND for the titles], is utterly,
utterly, total genius, thought-provoking, fuel for our cognitive process,
beautiful, insightful, I could go on, but I won't, as I love it so much.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NlhWEF76ITI/VY6SZqpWgHI/AAAAAAAAB3U/g7IS0TQNjE8/s1600/lenny%2Bcohen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="259" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NlhWEF76ITI/VY6SZqpWgHI/AAAAAAAAB3U/g7IS0TQNjE8/s640/lenny%2Bcohen.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Though much of the songs on POPULAR PROBLEMS are dark, very
dark, when dissected, however, they are remarkably insightful, and one in
particular resonates in my mind like a Church Bell summoning the faithful for
worship; It's called "DID I LOVE YOU", and it plays in my mind, in a
perpetual loop - like the swirl of a roller-coaster from which I sit strapped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">'DID I LOVE YOU' also makes me smile, as the very first gift I
sent Muriel Keogh, [from Saudi Arabia, where I was stationed], was Jennifer
Warnes' FAMOUS BLUE RAINCOAT : The songs of Leonard Cohen'. I chose the Warnes
tribute album, as I thought her interpretation of Cohen's words would be more
accessible to this woman, the one, I fell in love with - only to discover, that
she too was a fan of the Laconic Canadian, poet. <a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/various-positions.html">One
of the things Muriel and I share</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ftAjKHkrXEM/VY6SyLfrUgI/AAAAAAAAB3c/xLWu_5_f_hM/s1600/IMG_4798.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ftAjKHkrXEM/VY6SyLfrUgI/AAAAAAAAB3c/xLWu_5_f_hM/s640/IMG_4798.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">So for the next few weeks, I will be distracted by TRUE
DETECTIVE, for which I am thankful, as it allows me to manage some of the
problems ahead of me. I have found, one key method to reduce anxiety, and
manage the existential panic that lies at the core of being a thinking human
being, is to keep the mind and its cognitive apparatus fully occupied,
distracted, if you will; otherwise madness beckons<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.5pt; margin: 4.5pt 0cm;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Andy Dufresne: <i>"Get busy living, or get busy dying."</i><br />
STEPHEN KING - RITA HAYWORTH AND THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION<br />
FRANK DARABONT 'THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Because <a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2006/11/king-and-i.html">Stephen King</a>
was correct when he said “Life isn't a support system for art. It's the other
way around.”, because we need to manage our thinking-cognition to survive this
reality - and I am thankful to Nic Pizzolatto and his team for TRUE DETECTIVE,
as its density is such, it is all encompassing, to many of us - as we're headed
deep into TRUE DETECTIVE territory. This means that the insane logic that
drives the engine of my thinking, and therefore my existence will be firing on
all cylinders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.5pt; margin-bottom: 4.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 4.5pt;">
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">So I will leave you with a
remarkable song, a gift from <a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/various-positions.html">Leonard
Cohen</a>, with words that provoke thought, thus providing comfort and
distraction from the shapes that emerge from the surrounding fog that some term
the 'cloud of probability' that envelopes [and perplexes] us, and what others
call - our lives, our reality; trapped in this rock in a corner of time and
space.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Have a great weekend, TRUE
DETECTIVE - Monday, and for that I am thankful<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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……………………Nevermind, Nevermind, I live the life, I left behind…………………………<o:p></o:p></div>
Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-69887082506960295222014-11-09T10:42:00.001-08:002014-11-09T10:42:51.781-08:00From London to LA - Bouchercon 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FFsyoEzgizo/VF-yfhtwz4I/AAAAAAAABwE/hbzQ8pdEZbo/s1600/three%2Bfriends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FFsyoEzgizo/VF-yfhtwz4I/AAAAAAAABwE/hbzQ8pdEZbo/s1600/three%2Bfriends.jpg" height="400" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I am very excited [and fortunate] to be attending </span><a href="http://www.bouchercon2014.com/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bouchercon 2014</a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> hosted in Long Beach
California under Chair Ingrid Willis, and her team. It’s a long journey from
London to the West Coast of America - made exciting and amusing by my wonderful
friends and travel companions </span><a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/six-gun-stotter.html" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Mike
Stotter</a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> and </span><a href="http://www.rjellory.com/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Roger Ellory</a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4H3sGyIBnZw/VF-yw8gURoI/AAAAAAAABwM/9Es9OPsPs1E/s1600/stacey%2Band%2Bali.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4H3sGyIBnZw/VF-yw8gURoI/AAAAAAAABwM/9Es9OPsPs1E/s1600/stacey%2Band%2Bali.jpg" height="481" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I am very proud to be a member of the </span><a href="http://www.bouchercon.info/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bouchercon Board</a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, putting something back
into the genre that I love; as experience has shown me that </span><a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/managing-reality-with-albert-camus_23.html" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">viewing
reality</a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> through the parallax prism that is Crime, Mystery and Thriller fiction, a most enlightening experience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So after Long Beach, next year Bouchercon is being hosted
in Raleigh, North Carolina – with novelist and academic <a href="http://www.staceycochran.com/">Stacey Cochran</a> Charing the team, with
me helping on the Programming. </span></div>
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<em><b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2014</span></b></em><em><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> Long Beach, CA 13/11 – 16/11
> </span></em><em><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.bouchercon2014.com/">www.bouchercon2014.com</a></span></em></div>
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<em><b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2015 Raleigh, NC 8/10 –
11/10* > </span></b></em><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.bouchercon2015.org/"><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">www.bouchercon2015.org</span></a><em><b><span style="background: white;"> </span></b></em><em><b><span style="background: white; font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></em></span></div>
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<em><b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2016</span></b></em><em><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> New Orleans, LA 15/9 – 18/9 > </span></em><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.bouchercon2016.com/"><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">www.bouchercon2016.com</span></a><em><span style="background: white;"> </span></em><em><span style="background: white; font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></span></div>
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<em><b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2017</span></b></em><em><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> Toronto, Canada 12/10 – 15/10 >
web page to follow</span></em><em><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-style: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<em><b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2018</span></b></em><em><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> St Petersburg, FL 13/9 – 16/9 </span></em><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.bouchercon2018.com/"><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">www.bouchercon2018.com</span></a><em><span style="background: white;"> </span></em><em><span style="background: white; font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></span></div>
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<em><b><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">*</span></b></em><em><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Raleigh, North Carolina is named
after the famous British Explorer Sir Walter Raleigh who amongst other matters is
credited in being the bloke responsible for bringing Tobacco to Europe </span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So as we board that West Bound 747 next week, we are
delighted to see that The Blouchercon Long Beach have developed a wonderful app
for <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/bouchercon-world-mystery-conv./id924718357?mt=8">Iphone</a>
and <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Guidebook-Inc-Bouchercon-World-Mystery/dp/B00O7ZPU86">Android</a>.
I’ve tested it today, and it is really superb, like having the Bouchercon
Website in your palm, but with relational databases, making searching for
authors, colleagues, panels, information fast and easy. Janet of Mystery
Readers has <a href="http://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/bouchercon-app.html">more
information here</a>, with download links.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you are coming, say hello to Mike, Roger and I. </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KqIvpZ4BHFQ/VF-zN4pmGbI/AAAAAAAABwU/Pn3QDTchPGQ/s1600/Police%2BProcedural%2BPanels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KqIvpZ4BHFQ/VF-zN4pmGbI/AAAAAAAABwU/Pn3QDTchPGQ/s1600/Police%2BProcedural%2BPanels.jpg" height="481" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I am
moderating two panels that might be of interest, so please look us up.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZtCWklhL4Q4/VF-zcRMj9WI/AAAAAAAABwc/YVhufyN7ruw/s1600/Psycho%2Bthrillers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZtCWklhL4Q4/VF-zcRMj9WI/AAAAAAAABwc/YVhufyN7ruw/s1600/Psycho%2Bthrillers.jpg" height="472" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">or </span><a href="http://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/bouchercon-app.html" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">search the whole program using the Bouchercon app</a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2Er7PZf4E_Q/VF-zpC_x_VI/AAAAAAAABwk/FJz_WnNwaIs/s1600/app.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2Er7PZf4E_Q/VF-zpC_x_VI/AAAAAAAABwk/FJz_WnNwaIs/s1600/app.jpg" height="537" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And finally, here’s some music that I’m listening to as I
pack for the Journey West, and get my frame of mind sorted.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LA
Woman by The Doors<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/pDlx-ZUj9qs" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: -.35pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; padding: 0cm;">It Never Rains In Southern
California by Albert Hammond </span></b><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Seger and The Silver Bullet Band </span></b><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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California by The Eagles<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/p1kPkCOXE2c" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Little
Wine Drinker, Me by Dean Martin<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Come
a Long Way by Michelle Shocked <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="213" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/23230087" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <a href="http://vimeo.com/23230087"></a></span><span style="font-family: "Mangal","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">प्यार</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
from <a href="http://vimeo.com/paulhamilton">Paul
Hamilton</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<o:p></o:p>Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-70369969049275383562014-10-21T11:24:00.005-07:002014-10-21T11:34:36.789-07:00From “Eric Zann” to “The Bungalow House”<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m0cird198hw/VEaj_aH1tLI/AAAAAAAABvs/BavXTf2z4a8/s1600/ligotti%2Bcovers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m0cird198hw/VEaj_aH1tLI/AAAAAAAABvs/BavXTf2z4a8/s1600/ligotti%2Bcovers.jpg" height="640" width="628" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I know I am late to the party, but I must
admit my growing enthusiasm and admiration for the work of Thomas Ligotti which
just grows and grows as I read though his work, in between CWA reading /
evaluating, and my own writing. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My interest in Thomas Ligotti was initially sparked
by <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/02/02/writer-nic-pizzolatto-on-thomas-ligotti-and-the-weird-secrets-of-true-detective/">Nic
Pizzolatto’s True Detective</a>. The True Detective HBO series really rocked my
world with its fusion of <a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/true-detective-obsession.html">crime
fiction and the genre of weird fiction</a>. Tracking down his work is rather
expensive, as much is now out of print, so I asked my family not to buy me any
birthday presents, as I’d like to celebrate my 51<sup>st</sup> year on this
giant rock [trapped in space time] <a href="http://existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/the-weird-and-cosmic-world-of-thomas_12.html">collecting
and completing my Thomas Ligotti collection</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In my youth I was an avid reader of horror,
detective, mystery and the fiction of the weird; so I was delighted to revisit
my love of horror and the weird, thanks to True Detective.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have a particular fondness for Ligotti’s
dark, and Lovecraftian-influenced tale ‘The Bungalow House’. It reminds me of
one of my favourite HP Lovecraft tales, <a href="http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/fiction/mez.aspx">The Music of Eric
Zann</a>, an equally creepy tale, with a dream-like quality. It can be read <a href="http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/mez.aspx">here</a> and
a rather good video adaptation is available to view <a href="http://youtu.be/u2xku7aFBu4">here</a><span style="background: white;">.
This little film version of <a href="http://www.asliceofhorror.com/short-stories/the-music-of-erich-zann-analysis">"The
Music of Erich Zann"</a> is a horror film of haunting beauty and
terrifying poetry, filmed in the style of the German Expressionist films of the
1920's.</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A young student of
metaphysics is forced to take the only lodging he can afford, a crumbling and
decrepit building in a strange part of the city. Every night, he hears strange
and unusual music coming from the room above him, music he cannot describe and
cannot ignore.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He finds that the music
above is being played by Erich Zann; a mute and eccentric German man who plays
at night in a local orchestra. </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2Bk_o33ihq8/VEaitKoit7I/AAAAAAAABvQ/tyLj-a4dUcM/s1600/eric%2Bzann.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2Bk_o33ihq8/VEaitKoit7I/AAAAAAAABvQ/tyLj-a4dUcM/s1600/eric%2Bzann.jpg" height="320" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Fascinated by the man's genius, the student
tries to befriend Zann and understand why such a great talent chooses to live
in such squalor. Eventually, Howard learns of the secret behind Zann's music,
one too terrifying to imagine.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Anyway, with roots deeply buried in the weird worldview that came from the imagination of HP
Lovecraft, comes Thomas Ligotti’s "The Bungalow House", and here’s an extract -<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The bungalow house was such a bleak environment in which to
make a stand: the moonlight through the dusty blinds, the bodies on the carpet,
the lamps without any lightbulbs. And the incredible silence. It was not the
absence of sounds that I sensed, but the stifling of innumerable sounds and
even voices, the muffling of all the noises one might expect to hear in an old
bungalow house in the dead of night, as well as countless other sounds and
voices. The forces required to accomplish this silence filled me with awe. The
infinite terror and dreariness of an infested bungalow house, I whispered to
myself. A bungalow universe, I then thought without speaking aloud. Suddenly I
was overcome by a feeling of euphoric hopelessness which passed through my body
like a powerful drug and held all my thoughts and all my movements in a dreamy,
floating suspension. In the moonlight that shone through the blinds of that
bungalow house I was now as still and as silent as everything else.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_Mr-q76UAcY/VEai45zGUJI/AAAAAAAABvY/587kYtdcZaI/s1600/nightmare%2Bfactory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_Mr-q76UAcY/VEai45zGUJI/AAAAAAAABvY/587kYtdcZaI/s1600/nightmare%2Bfactory.jpg" height="400" width="261" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Thomas Ligotti described the story in an interview
at Wonderbook -</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><i>“In ‘The Bungalow House’, I described a series of what I designated as “dream monologues” that were recorded on tape and intended to be works of art. The first dream monologue was a transcription of an actual dream I had and wrote down soon after I awoke, so it was also initiated my writing of the entire story. A second dream monologue in ‘The Bungalow House’ was only summarized, while a third was simply given a title, because at that point I had established the nature of the dream monologues in their incidents and meaning. For my purposes, to describe each dream monologue in its entirety would have slowed the pace of the story. All of the dream monologues were used to characterize the peculiar nature of the main character’s psychology. Sometimes I’ll characterize the events of a narrative as being dreamlike in some specific way, because over the years I’ve noted qualities that characterize dreams, such as that they have no beginning, an idea that was recently used in the movie Inception to prove to a character that she was functioning in a dream and not in conventional reality. </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><i>A very short story I wrote called ‘One May Be Dreaming’ is pretty obviously a dream from beginning to end. The whole point of the story was that the protagonist was having a dream at the same time he was dying in real life. Usually, it’s not exposed until the end of the story that the whole thing was a dream. For his story ‘Where He Was Going,’ William Burroughs employs this method, his use of which he credits to Ernest Hemingway’s ‘Snows of Kilimanjaro.’ ‘Man from the South’ was Jorge Luis Borges’s rendition of this narrative structure. Perhaps I should say that I don’t think that dreams are anything more than rearranged experiences, sensations, and emotions. While they may easily be interpreted as symbolic or premonitory or whatever, I don’t believe that they are anything but intrusions upon what might otherwise be wholly unconscious hours of sleep.”</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thomas Ligotti interviewed at Wonderbook <a href="http://wonderbooknow.com/interviews/thomas-ligotti/">Read More Here</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Listen to a wonderful dramatization from <a href="http://pseudopod.org/2013/09/06/pseudopod-350-the-bungalow-house/">Pseudopod
Here</a> which will make you think, about what we term reality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The Bungalow House” was first published in 1995 in the
horror fanzine The Urbanite and was nominated for a Bram Stoker award for short
stories published in that year. Subsequently it was collected in THE NIGHTMARE
FACTORY.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x_XRTrE-0PE/VEajOpiBWII/AAAAAAAABvg/abynmf6t3WY/s1600/conspiracy-aganst-the-human-race.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x_XRTrE-0PE/VEajOpiBWII/AAAAAAAABvg/abynmf6t3WY/s1600/conspiracy-aganst-the-human-race.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">THOMAS LIGOTTI is one of the foremost contemporary
authors of supernatural horror literature. His works been honored with several
awards, including the Horror Writers Association’s Bram Stoker award for the
collection THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY (1996) and the novella MY WORK IS NOT YET DONE
(2002). Revised, definitive editions of his first three story collections —
SONGS OF A DEAD DREAMER, GRIMSCRIBE, and NOCTUARY — were published in 2010,
2011, and 2012, respectively. Revised editions of his collections THE AGONIZING
RESURRECTION OF VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN AND OTHER GOTHIC TALES and DEATH POEMS were
issued in 2013. Ligotti has also published THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE HUMAN
RACE (2010), a nonfiction work that explores the intersection of the darker
byways of literature, philosophy, and psychology. Forthcoming titles by Ligotti
include a collection of interviews and a chapbook consisting of two newly
written stories. The web site Thomas Ligotti Online was founded as a forum for
discussions of and media related to Ligotti’s writings as well as those of wide
range of authors, artists, and musicians whose work is associated with the
horror genre, among other areas of interest to devotees of unconventional art
and thought.</span><br />
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Incidentally </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">http://pseudopod.org is a great resource for lovers of audio horror, with plenty of weird fiction available for download and streaming.</span></span></b></i><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4nVgwn0BOr4/VEamZ_CHgmI/AAAAAAAABv0/owIF-JFVx3M/s1600/rabitt%2Bheadlights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4nVgwn0BOr4/VEamZ_CHgmI/AAAAAAAABv0/owIF-JFVx3M/s1600/rabitt%2Bheadlights.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></div>
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Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-33448400323560051812014-10-12T08:13:00.002-07:002014-10-12T08:13:58.305-07:00When The Road Forks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mrVxqaguZzA/VDqO_1ynSGI/AAAAAAAABs8/IMZVqPkbTz4/s1600/probability%2Bcloud.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mrVxqaguZzA/VDqO_1ynSGI/AAAAAAAABs8/IMZVqPkbTz4/s1600/probability%2Bcloud.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Most of us have barely enough time to spend </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">analyzing</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> our
cognitive apparatus [our Brain, or ‘thinking machine’]. This is because [for most of us], the ability
to hold firm [or cling], to this reality - takes all of our powers - of
tenacity, of will, of motivation, of pattern recognition and survival skills,
to purely ‘exist’. Many of us understand that this reality is far from benign,
for it carries huge risks and is peppered with dangerous crevices, where danger
lurks. There is additional danger, of hazards due to the huge influence of ‘randomness’
that is thrown into the proceedings. For all of us, the dangers are physical,
as well as mental, and many of these obstacles [or situations] can be fatal, so
we find that we use our cognitive apparatus, to just stay in the game – stay
alive, and helping others [that share this plane of existence] to do so, also. Survival
in this plane of existence can be viewed as our ability to traverse [akin to a
speck of dust in a </span></span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m5JnJBq2AU"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Brownian
Motion</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> tube] as safely as we can, in the random probability
cloud that envelopes us, in ‘the present’, and what can we term as ‘the moment’ or the
perceived, and then, interpreted situation - our reality. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Some of us are better
than others in managing our situation, of surviving reality, and the best we
can hope for is that our abilities in using our cognition, hedges our bets.
This is because when enveloped in the cloud of probability [that is ‘the
present’], the best we can hope for is to be like that horse-racing scout, up
early on the training grounds, watching the horses, the weather, the conditions
for the race, and making decisions all based on the observations that the
racing scout has perceived and then interpreted, in order to predict what the
future is likely to be. Therefore, whilst existing in ‘the present’, the
greater our ability to interpret the past, and understand how the cognitive
process of interpretation in our minds operate [ie our internal operating system] – the
better will be our chances in surviving the buffeting current of the
probability cloud, and surviving to our future. Though we can at best only hope to
hedge our bets, because the limitations of our mind, and our abilities in
cognition are further hampered by the randomness that pervades our existence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And as the Bard once said in Hamlet<i>……..ay, there’s the rub…..</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“To be, or not to be: that is the question:<br />
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer<br />
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,<br />
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,<br />
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;<br />
No more; and by a sleep to say we end<br />
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks<br />
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation<br />
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;<br />
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;”</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These thoughts make me visualise ourselves, to be that of figures, trapped within the confines of a giant conical tube, like an aviation wind
tunnel, bracing ourselves, when the engine of reality, [the turbine] is switched on,
and the wind tears at us, at our clothes, at our grip and our footing. Ahead of us, I understand that the turbulence [we find ourselves confronting, the 'situation', ‘the
present’] originates from deep within the probability cloud I.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The turbulence is caused by the forces at play within the probability cloud,
including our fellow beings with consciousness [as well from the interacting
inanimate objects, devoid of consciousness but replete with actions that can
come into contact with our hand and foot-holds in the wind tunnel. As we look
behind our shoulders, we can see what I term ‘the past’, the results of the random, as
well as the ‘erected’ events and decisions that have shaped themselves into the
construct we refer to as ‘days gone by.’ - our past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A key element of survival in this existence, is our
ability to interpret the sensory input from the reality that surrounds,
filtering this information through our moods, channels of thought, past
reflections of what was the outcome of the ‘cause-to-effect’ ratios [ie pattern
recognition] et. al. to create the holographic image of our place in this
reality ie to use our brains to really delve beneath the surface veneer </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">of the wind tunnel, confronting the turbulence that tugs on us
like a solar wind, as invisible, as it is lethal. Therefore one key survival
skill is our ability to question what this ‘place’ is, and how it works, or
more precisely our interpretation of our ‘situation’, or what we term ‘the
present’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">So, for some of us, the more we age, and for the more
adventurous [amongst us], and the more analytical we are, then, this allows those
of us [with this ‘curious / need to know’ inclination] to ruminate on what this
existence is all about. Many of us are looking for clues that might unlock what
existence is, and the more we ruminate by examining our thoughts [as to what
might be the answers], the more we realise it is likely to be plural, as
opposed to singular – ie there are many possibilities as to what this existence
is, or how it came into being, especially how crucial the observers are in order
to bring this existence into reality.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">We should also start to consider that
existence, as a shape, is perhaps fractal in design and execution, as well as,
being in the shape of many possible existences, all available, all of the time, </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">dimensional</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> as well as functional, and all ‘in-concert’ as an endless array of choices around us. Some of us, from time to time, slip between scenarios, or traverse through
the ‘probability cloud’, or as some would term ‘the multiverse’. Others can't, they remain rooted in their belief systems as they get </span><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">perturbed when a thought or observation conflicts with their value system. This is termed 'Cognitive Dissonance', the inability to manage thoughts and observations that conflict with their ingrained beliefs. This usually affects the deeply religious, the bigoted, the indoctrinated and those who live in denial.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One way to visualise what reality ‘is’ [or realities
‘are’], and the more robustly we have the ability to do so, then may well hedge our bets in
terms of surviving this probability cloud, and making it toward the future
[with the least amount of scars], like the racing tipster, in his grey raincoat
clutching his note book and binoculars on a misty morning, surveying the stallions,
and the trainers milling around and preparing to enter the probability cloud;
and betting on the outcome. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Others use another technique, flipping that coin that
lies in their pocket, or pinning the existential tail, on the existential
donkey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Some do nothing, but leave their destiny to the hand of fate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I know which method I prefer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Age is helpful, but more crucial is the ability to
learn from the events and experiences that pepper our past observations, trying
to understand causality [‘cause-to-result’] in our lives and the existential
parameters that define the rules and events of the game. Age has also made me
focus on what is so key to traversing from the present to the future, and
surviving, or at best hedging my bets to survive the game. An understanding of
the rules is also key to surviving the game, but when we entered the game of
life, we were not issued with a rule book. Instead we had to use our skills
[within our cognitive sensory apparatus] to interpret the reality we find
ourselves in, and piece together the rules that govern the swirls and currents
within the probability cloud - to survive to the future, and then the cycle
repeats, because if the present is a probability cloud, we have to become good
at the decision making process, because when the road ahead forks, as it does
many times in our lives [with some forks less important than others], each
time we approach a fork, we must understand how crucial it is to make the right
decision. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p8QYWE_QEkg/VDqPYJymN_I/AAAAAAAABtM/tRGT9S1gNPg/s1600/cosmos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p8QYWE_QEkg/VDqPYJymN_I/AAAAAAAABtM/tRGT9S1gNPg/s1600/cosmos.jpg" height="323" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It is useful to look back at the past, turning our heads
to examine the decisions we made, and how we came to make those decisions – and
what where the results from those decisions, and how they shaped the ‘present
situation’ we find ourselves in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One important consideration is to actually make a
decision; and understanding that the internal
filters that power our cognition, will influence the decision we arrive at, and
one that we travel along. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We must also understand that the first part is
straight forward, ie actually making the decision. Some suffer
‘decision-paralysis’, like that rabbit forever trapped by the magnetic
attraction of those headlights coming at us, and so pause worried which
direction, which decision we should take as the lights come at us. When we
hear the squeal of brakes, and the abrasive tears of the rubber tyres hitting
our body, we realise we’re too late. Our hesitation was [when placed
‘in-concert’ with the upcoming lights from the future, colliding with our
present] our demise, and the words ‘game over’ come to mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So if we can overcome the dithering [and our default position,
which is procrastination] when weighing up what decision to make when the road
forks, we have a secondary problem to consider. The cognitive process that our
consciousness [as well as our subconscious] mind deploys in filtering through
our sensory apparatus and signals can pose dangerous traits that must be
managed. The inputs that shape what decision we have to come to, have to
traverse our mood, our health, the context of our existence [like what
handholds we have in the wind-tunnel], our past memories of the effects of
causality, our prejudices and preferences – in making the decision. The danger
is that unlike the rocks around us, our minds are conscious and therefore have
subjective methods of analysis, therefore if we bias our decision upon our
mood, then our thinking is swayed away from the objective, so we may well make a
decision that is not logical, as our thoughts and cognitive channels that our
thoughts traverse, may be disingenuous. Feelings and Mood are dangerous shapes
to hook our anchors and decision making process to, because they are not
constants, they shift and change and those shifts alter / influence our outlook upon
life, and the probability cloud we find ourselves in. This can lead us to make
bad decisions, which lead us into difficult situations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I recall a funny line
from Woody Allen’s 1973 film Sleeper when asked about his mind, he retorts </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngizj5FIcjo"><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">“<span style="background: white;">…my
brain: it's my second favourite organ….”</span></span></i></a><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> So if we then consider that
Allen’s character’s male sexual organs are his favourite organ, then any
decision making process, based on his immediate sexual needs, is in turn influenced by
the level or concentration of Testosterone in the blood stream [and the production
and equilibrium level of that male sex hormone is in turn influenced by our
self-worth, our state of mind etc] – so we must take care when confronted with a
fork in the road that has a sexual element involved in the decision we must
make. This rationale illustrates why so many marriages,
partnerships, or relationships will fail, as one or both partners may make very
crucial decisions, that will affect the rest of their lives, but are/were heavily influenced
by their ‘mood’ [at that moment], which in turn is chemically, as well as
cognitively related to their thinking process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So the
way we think is vital to manage [and in turn, survive] the reality, or
probability cloud that is ‘the situation’ or ‘the present’ – we find ourselves
in, and therefore will steer the path to our future or futures, depending on
the conceptualisation we create of what the future holds for us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One key
aspect of managing our cognition or thought process is what is termed </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuro-linguistic_programming"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Neuro-linguistic programming</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[<em><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">NLP</span></em>] or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy [CBT]<span class="apple-converted-space">;
which in its simplest definition is the language we deploy to communicate,
which in turn at best influences, or at worst controls our thinking. We must
take care in the language and the way we deploy our language to those around
us, not just verbal, but also non-verbal communication, because not only does
it send signals and alters the thinking of those that co-exist with us in the
wind-tunnel, or probability cloud that is ‘the present’, but worryingly, it
also shapes what the way we think, and that in turn shapes what we perceive as
our reality, and that finally makes us come to the decisions in our lives, when
the road forks. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So Descartes was right, when he
postulated <i>“I think, therefore, I am.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Be careful when making your decisions,
and always be aware that you are not alone in the “probability cloud”, that is
“the present”. You actions and decisions may well have a ripple effect on the
others around you, just as their decisions and actions will affect you, as you
traverse toward the future. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sometimes the decisions we make, and the
actions we take [or not take] may influence [at best], and define [at worst]
who we are; and in the journey that is the movement from the present, into the
future, we should understand that the forks in the road, and the decisions
we’ve made will change us, make us different to the reflections of ourselves,
as we look behind ourselves at the past, and what happened. We must also
realise that the cognitive process within our brains also has the ability to
alter our recollections of past events and deeds, often as a coping mechanism,
but also as a method of rationalising our existence; our place in the probability
cloud that is the present.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I think David Byrne and Talking Heads
summed it up well <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/I1wg1DNHbNU" width="420"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">While
Michael Stipe and his colleagues at REM took another view of these themes of
confronting the present as we move forward to the future<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/xQN7A6Vl1H4" width="420"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">While
Stipe was influenced by the tempo and significance of David Essex, and this
song which also resonates with the themes of this essay<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So when
someone tells you [usually with a disingenuous voice or agenda], <i>‘hey you’ve changed’</i>. You should smile and remind yourself that, of
course you have changed; as the act of decision making and living with the
consequences of those decisions, will
change you, to lesser or greater degrees, because one of the reasons why Paul
Valery remarked <i>‘the future is not what
it used to be’</i>, is because you made a decision today [in the present], as
have others, and the fruits of those decisions, is what we term as the future, a future where you are different.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-21K98oOWFRo/VDqPoCQYEHI/AAAAAAAABtU/h7isyInlnDk/s1600/rabitt%2Bheadlights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-21K98oOWFRo/VDqPoCQYEHI/AAAAAAAABtU/h7isyInlnDk/s1600/rabitt%2Bheadlights.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you prevaricated,
or procrastinated when faced with the fork in the road, rather than grapple
with the situation in the probability cloud, and face up to the consequences of
your decision, you could be that rabbit hypnotized as the lights come at you, and take you out of the game, leaving just a rubber skid mark as a reminder, that you did indeed exist.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">You should perhaps also ponder on the fact that the concept of time [that we've been lead to believe] may well be erroneous, as time does not flow in the 'river' analogy, but could be better considered as a construct we've created, to rationalize the events that occur, and linked to the decision making process, interacting with those of others as well as the random interactions of events to the observers trapped in the probability cloud.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">More troubling is the question of the veracity of what we term 'free will', because if the axioms discussed here have validity [to greater and lesser degrees], then the whole concept of 'free will' comes into question, for it is far from an absolute concept. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">'Free Will' like 'Time' may well be a construct of sorts.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Why, Why, Why?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">The ability to create abstract concepts such as 'time', or 'free will' may well be yet another coping mechanism, a method to cognitively create order where there is none, and also to fool ourselves into believing that we have purpose in this reality, when perhaps there is none, for the probability cloud we term 'the present', physically is a trap we find ourselves in; a</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"> trap constructed on a giant rock, caught up in a tiny part of 'space-time', for which the only escape or solace [as conscious beings] is the knowledge [no matter how disingenuous] that there is meaning [to our lives] within the swirls of the probability cloud, and that we have significance, when most of what we perceive, and cognitively distill - indicates that there is none. </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Another coping mechanism, is the understanding that if all this is 'true' then our existence in this 'probability cloud', that we term 'the present' is, above all else absurd, and we must console ourselves with laughter at the situation we find ourselves in.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Because if we didn't then it is 'game over man, game fucking over'</span></span></span></div>
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Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-67170079009450892412014-08-23T05:10:00.001-07:002014-08-23T05:10:56.310-07:00Managing Reality with Albert Camus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Graham Greene once stated that </span></div>
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<b><i><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how
all those who do not write, compose or paint can manage to escape the madness,
melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation."</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I admire the life and work of Albert Camus, and share much of his way of
thinking, which I later learned possibly relates to the similarities of our
experience; his being of a 'French / Colonial Algerian background', while I
came from 'Brit</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">ish /
Colonial Indian background'.<br />
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Therefore our thinking would always be from the perspective of that of an
"Outsider", a "Stranger" if you will. In primary school,
when we studied French, we were all given a French name [tagged onto a badge on
our blazer lapels], as we had to speak in French for the duration of the
lessons. It was a name similar to our own, so Philip became Philippe, Peter
became Pierre and Ali became 'Albert'. Our French teacher, who was from
Marseille, was a very kind woman. She explained that she thought of me as her
little "Albert Camus". I didn't know who this Camus bloke was then.
So for a while, 'Albert' became one of many of my nicknames or 'Cassius' [after
Cassius Clay, the boxer], and a more pleasant one, than some of the other names
I was called, mostly related negatively to my skin colour, which was different
to the others around me.<br />
<br />
Being a child, and 'different', is very tough, but now, in my fifties, I
realize it made me understand much more about this reality, than if I fitted
into the class like the rest of the sea of white faces, now faded into the
sepia, that colours our memories of days now passed.<br />
<br />
I only understood the significance of the nickname, Albert [pronounced
'Al-bear'] years later as I read Albert Camus, and grappled with the thoughts
and writings of this Goalkeeper, Writer and Thinker.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I owe a debt to my French teacher for making me seek out who this Albert Camus
bloke was, and flattered that she thought that the little boy who sat quietly
in the back of the class alone, was her little 'Albear', a boy who didn't say
much for fear of ridicule by some unpleasant members of class who enjoyed
poking fun at 'the stranger' and hitting him; the boy who was different to
everyone else, the boy who hid behind his books for protection; the boy who
immersed himself in reading, trying to come to terms with the situation he
found himself in - a stranger in a strange land.<br />
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Albert Camus' writing and thinking expanded my way of living with my deep
consciousness, and therefore altered my thinking over the years.<br />
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I admire people [in my case, writers] who have the ability to alter your
cognitive process, to challenge your conditioning, to make you grapple and come
to terms with the fact that 'all is not as it seems', because often as
children, we are conditioned into thinking in a particular way. To alter the
neural pathways, one has to have read, and grappled with the concepts and ideas
of those gifted with the ability to decipher what I term 'the situation', the
place we find ourselves in, trapped on this rock in 'space / time'. It is
thanks to those [the writers, the thinkers] who can examine 'the situation' via
deep cognitive thought, and elude to it being nothing but a 'probability cloud'
in a reality as random, as it is perhaps manipulated.<br />
<br />
The manipulation and artifice around us, may not be all bad, for some people it
helps manages the anxiety that this place creates, a situation held together by
thought and mathematics, and managed by the ability to realize the grand
absurdity of it all, and therefore to laugh in the face of the randomness, that
is our lives.<br />
<br />
Some people cannot live comfortably when confronted with their lives being
either meaningless, or random, and with little or no control, for it can be
interpreted only as a cloud of probability, which like a raging sea, can turn
malevolent. It would be a digression too far, if I debate the lucidity of my
growing belief that free will is an illusion we have created cognitively, to
help comfort us, from understanding that perhaps our lives hold no purpose, or
meaning when contrasted against the cosmic scale of events, which we too have
turned into an illusion, we term "time" as a "flow",
instead of what it now appears to be.</span></div>
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I'm smiling as I ponder, if you are enjoying my cut-back on posts on FB, the
expressing of my views, and of my thoughts, of just another conscious observer
of 'the situation' I find myself in. I say this in the manner of one who revels
in the absurd. It often takes a goal-keeper to do this, as like Camus, the
goal-keeper, he spends an inordinate amount of time watching, waiting,
observing, and above all else thinking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Without observation, and then the interpretation of the signals ['thinking /
cognition'] there can be no reality, nor can one prepare for when the ball is
fired in our direction. Reality is not solid, and it is not singular, but
plural, depending on the context that you pull it from.<br />
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Is it no wonder I became an avid reader of crime / mystery fiction, because
sometimes I view this reality, this 'situation' or cloud of probability, as a
mystery, and due to the dark side of human nature, sometimes a crime. Though the
comfort of crime / mystery fiction we get a break from the random nature of
reality, and build a cocoon, a blanket, a delusion, that we have and can exert
control; when the reality is we're just protecting the goal, watching and
observing, thinking - for when the ball comes at us, we need to stop it hitting
the netting behind us.<br />
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Here's a documentary that is as insightful as it is interesting, about the man
we know of as Albert Camus, always the Outsider, the Goalkeeper observing
reality from the edge of the stadium, alone and protecting the goal - The
Stranger, the man with a past that was as Colonial as it was introspective.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Remember, when reality turns malevolent, relax and understand the absurdity of
it all and that you are not alone, for we are all strangers clinging to the
belief that we have significance in this place, because it is hard to face the
thought that perhaps we have not.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s1QSW7tqAOc/U_iCG6nKWyI/AAAAAAAABqY/MgFD8_HKmo4/s1600/Camus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s1QSW7tqAOc/U_iCG6nKWyI/AAAAAAAABqY/MgFD8_HKmo4/s1600/Camus.jpg" height="482" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I've left a few words [above] from two blokes I admire, one shares my birthday
and rocked the Casaba, the other bloke [amongst others] taught me to think in
an existential manner.</span><br />
<br /><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">They both could be the same person; so did
Strummer pose his image to look like Camus, or did Camus create Strummer's
image by his thoughts and writings, affecting Strummer when he read them?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">When I see the link between 'belief systems' and
'death', the question of 'meaning' and 'purpose' come to mind, as does the role
of 'cognitive delusion' we deploy in our thinking, as well as what others have
indoctrinated into us, and the media present to us a possible reality?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As the "world" continues to perplex
us, due to the insanity of humanity, and the random nature of 'this place',
'this rock' we appear to inhabit, some of us understand that elements of the
delusions that we are told, or believe in, are manufactured, coping mechanisms,
or reasons to live, and of course reasons to die.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Both the will to live, as well as the will to
die are equally valid, as is the coping mechanism we call writing and reading.
I view the process of writing as the '</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">legitimization</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> of thinking / cognition',
and a method we have to prove we were here.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Slmj0Z_kd34/U_iDuIBYMVI/AAAAAAAABq0/QLjsYRLIr_A/s1600/jolly%2Broger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Slmj0Z_kd34/U_iDuIBYMVI/AAAAAAAABq0/QLjsYRLIr_A/s1600/jolly%2Broger.jpg" height="301" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The caveman scrawled animal fat and minerals on
the cave walls, to prove they existed, but also the start of distractions,
depictions, illusions of reality, and 'the arts' were formed.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Reading is more interesting. I consider the act
of reading as the pursuit to find out if our own thinking is aligned to the
reality we perceive via our holographic consciousness, created by our cranial
apparatus, the method we diffract our sensory inputs through our mood, our
experiences, our prejudices and urges.</span><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It is also useful to give us the illusion of
control in a reality that is random and far from benign - a distraction.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">But I could be wrong as it is difficult and
takes effort to fight your programming, and discriminate all that is 'delusion'
from all that is 'real', when artifice merges the two. What makes it worse is
we lie to ourselves and are complicit in creating our interpretation of what we
believe 'this' all is.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">For some ignorance is bliss, as deep thinking
and exploring the edges of your consciousness is hard work. I do a great deal
of thinking while driving, as well as my bouts of solitude when I explore my
mind, and my observations of 'this place'.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">At the close of Planet of the Apes, Dr Zaius
said to Taylor [Charlton Heston] as he headed off with his mate Nova into the
Forbidden Zone <i>"Don't look for it, Taylor. You may not like what
you find"</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;">My belief is that in the end it's all absurd, so
we need to cloud our mind, our consciousness with laughter, humour, family and
companionship. These are my coping mechanisms, my will to live.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">So may I wish you good cheer, and remember your companionship is
something I value highly, as you all make me think, for without cognition,
we're just another lump of meat consuming and scratching our skins in order to
prove we exist.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p>We all battle the thoughts that are termed "mortality salience", and these intensify as we age; because despite what the Holy Men tell you, no one knows where we came from, or where we're headed following our time trapped on this giant rock, in an insignificant corner of 'space / time'.</o:p></span></div>
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Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549527447529902973.post-67766128932132142802014-08-12T10:36:00.000-07:002014-08-12T10:37:25.139-07:00The Weird and Cosmic World of Thomas Ligotti <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aTK44YGrxT0/U-pPoQi1YwI/AAAAAAAABog/X8MXAGRQy_g/s1600/shadow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aTK44YGrxT0/U-pPoQi1YwI/AAAAAAAABog/X8MXAGRQy_g/s1600/shadow.jpg" height="400" width="260" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I know I am a little late to the
party, as many of us thanks to a prompt from </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -.6pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/02/02/writer-nic-pizzolatto-on-thomas-ligotti-and-the-weird-secrets-of-true-detective/"><span style="color: windowtext;">Nic Pizzolatto of True Detective</span></a> fame have
been exploring the work of the mysterious <a href="http://www.ligotti.net/"><span style="color: windowtext;">Thomas Ligotti</span></a> and other purveyors of weird
/ cosmic fiction. Though I had heard of Ligotti, <a href="http://therapsheet.blogspot.co.uk/2006/11/king-and-i.html"><span style="color: windowtext;">I hadn’t read any
significant horror fiction</span></a>
[apart from the usual suspects] for decades. In my youth I was an avid reader
of weird fiction thanks to my love of HP Lovecraft, <a href="http://www.ramseycampbell.com/"><span style="color: windowtext;">Ramsey Campbell</span></a>,
Stephen King, Robert McCammon and many, many others.<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My <a href="http://www.existentialistman.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/true-detective-obsession.html"><span style="color: windowtext;">recent enthusiasm for True Detective</span></a> made
me go back to my early reading, as well as catch up on the weird and cosmic end
of the horror genre. Of particular interest has been Ligotti’s non-fiction work
<a href="http://www.metamute.org/editorial/occultural-studies-column/we-are-not-here"><span style="color: windowtext;">THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE HUMAN RACE</span></a> –<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">If one were to compile a list of
contemporary American pessimists, the list would be short, though Thomas
Ligotti's name would likely be on it. To most who are familiar with his work,
Ligotti is known as an author of horror fiction. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">His 1986 debut Songs of a Dead Dreamer immediately set him apart from his contemporaries.
Filled with dark, lyrical prose, it displayed an unabashed appreciation for the
tradition of the Gothic. It was composed of short texts that were difficult to
categorise, and that barely contained narrative and plot. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When it was published, Songs of a Dead Dreamer stood in direct contrast to much horror fiction of
the 1980s, characterised as it was by slasher-style gore and violence, and a
more brutalist approach to language. Ligotti's writing, by contrast, tended
more towards an effusive, contorted prose that revealed almost nothing – though
each of his pieces was steeped in a sombre, funereal mood more reminiscent of
the ‘supernatural horror’ tradition of Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft. All
the horrors – the real horrors – remained hidden in a stark, unhuman nether
region beyond all comprehension, and yet instilled directly in the flesh of the
narrators or characters.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3iR02sYNEQQ/U-pPvb105VI/AAAAAAAABoo/3PjOAaCMfEY/s1600/conspiracy-aganst-the-human-race.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3iR02sYNEQQ/U-pPvb105VI/AAAAAAAABoo/3PjOAaCMfEY/s1600/conspiracy-aganst-the-human-race.jpg" height="400" width="285" /></a></i></div>
<i><o:p></o:p></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In a career that spans almost 30
years, Ligotti's work has remained committed to this tradition of supernatural
horror and, given the trends, fads, and wild mood swings of the horror genre,
such a commitment is an admirable anomaly. Which brings me to Ligotti's most recent
book, The Conspiracy Against the Human Race.
Ligotti fans may find this book puzzling at first. For one thing, it is not a
work of horror fiction; for that matter, it's not a work of fiction at all. But
to call it a collection of essays or a treatise of philosophy doesn't quite do
it justice either. Ligotti does comment at length on the horror genre and on a
number of authors, from Anne Radcliffe and Joseph Conrad to Poe and Lovecraft.
But Conspiracy is not
just a writer's personal opinion of other writers. Similarly, Ligotti does
spend much of the book reflecting on pessimism, reminding us of the freshness
of grumpy thinkers like Arthur Schopenhauer, while also pointing to more
obscure or forgotten thinkers, such as the Norwegian philosopher and Alpinist
Peter Wessel Zapffe. But Ligotti's approach is much too eccentric and
uncompromising to be considered academic philosophy, and as a book Conspiracy is unencumbered by
reams of footnotes or jargon-heavy vocabulary. Finally, Ligotti does address a
number of topical issues in Conspiracy –
research in cognitive neuroscience, the natalism/anti-natalism debate, global
warming and over population, transhumanism, Terror Management Therapy, the
popularity of Buddhism, and the self-help boom, among others. But the aim of
the book is not simply to be topical, nor to present a ‘pop’ introduction to a
difficult topic.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">So then, what kind of book is Conspiracy? It is first and foremost a book about pessimism; but
it is also a pessimistic book. While it contains critical insights into the
heights and pitfalls of pessimist thinking, it also contains stunning
indictments of our many pretentions to being human: ‘As for us humans, we reek
of our own sense of being something special’; ‘What is most uncanny about the
self is that no one has yet been able to pr<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="sdendnote1anc">esent the
least evidence of it</a>. Conspiracy constantly
hovers around that boundary between writing about pessimism and simply writing pessimism, and nowhere is this more evident than in
Ligotti's own brand of pessimism, which is at once uncompromising and absurd:<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Read More from Eugene Thacker <span style="color: windowtext;"><a href="http://www.metamute.org/editorial/occultural-studies-column/we-are-not-here">here</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After a silence from publication for a decade, which he explains
<a href="http://www.ligotti.net/showthread.php?t=8726"><span style="color: windowtext;">here</span></a>,
including a harrowing medical emergency, Ligotti published <a href="http://subterraneanpress.com/store/product_detail/the_spectral_link"><span style="color: windowtext;">The Spectral Link</span></a> a slim volume consisting of
two stories </span><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Metaphysica Morum</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> and <b>The Small People</b> [each about 50 pages in length] which I found very
unsettling, almost like being in a lucid nightmare. Ligotti describes these two
stories as -</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">As with
many, if not most, of my stories, “Metaphysica Morum” is autobiography
exaggerated. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The
narrator of “Metaphysica Morum” harps on my euthanasia fantasy, except for him
it is in connection with longstanding emotional problems having a source beyond
the natural. For some people, all experiences of an intensity far surpassing
that of ordinary life provoke a need for expression. Another dimension or level
of reality opens up, and they begin ranting to a purpose. A few may propound
visions as in the biblical Book of Revelation, horrible visions whose author
must have felt an insatiable need to make believable and find credence in his
readers. Some believe these visions and give them credence; others do not.
Which of these postures is assumed could not possibly concern the scribbler of
these visions. He has seen. That is enough. This is the state of the narrator
of “Metaphysica Morum” and conveying such a state, as I’ve said in interviews
and essays, is what supernatural horror fiction does better than any other kind
of literature.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">I’ve written things in the wake of a previous work, and I
think “The Small People” was one of them. It really hit me all at once, and I
barely had to think about it either structurally or thematically. “Metaphysica
Morum” derived straight from my hospital episode and “The Small People”
indirectly. After writing the former story, I was still in an elevated mood
from my surgeries. And if I could keep writing, I thought I could keep my
elevated mood alive. And only in an elevated mood can I write about the worst.
Only in a good mood can I reflect upon what’s in store for me, such as the
hospital episode, without fear of overwhelming my consciousness. Only in a good
mood can I think about my existence or existence itself without thinking about
wanting to be euthanized by anesthesia. I believe this is how it is for many
people, though I can’t say how many, and if I claim it is a great many then I
would be derided by those for whom this is not how it is. In any case, I think
it’s safe to say that the carryover from my hospital episode was more literal
in “Metaphysica Morum” than in “The Small People.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Read More from Thomas
Ligotti <span style="color: windowtext;"><a href="http://www.ligotti.net/showthread.php?t=8726">here</a></span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I find that I can only read Ligotti in small doses, due
to some of the unsettling atmosphere his work creates in my consciousness, and
though a writer of poetry, short stories and the occasional novelette, his work
packs a disturbing punch. Most of his work is out of print, so it’s a little
expensive collecting his earlier work, but well worth it – if you like the ‘cosmic
end’ of horror genre, and also your world-view to be questioned, then Ligotti
is a writer you should explore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rd8-q-UVGIk/U-pQF1wzOTI/AAAAAAAABo4/BZ3ypN5DLXk/s1600/ligotti%2Bbooks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rd8-q-UVGIk/U-pQF1wzOTI/AAAAAAAABo4/BZ3ypN5DLXk/s1600/ligotti%2Bbooks.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Recently I acquired the Ligotti collection </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Nightmare Factory</b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, a collection that
showcases a vast array of some of his most disturbing fiction, opening with the
truly unsettling tale </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">‘The Frolic’</b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red;">A WARNING</span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> – ‘The
Frolic’ though far from gratuitous, is a very distressing tale that concerns
child murder and is very unsettling and is the only fiction from the pen of
Thomas Ligotti that has been filmed, and there is a link to view this creepy 20
minute film below.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.wonderentertainment.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=51&Itemid=63"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Wonder
Entertainment </span></a>released a <a href="http://www.filmbaby.com/films/2713"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">special collector’s edition of Thomas
Ligotti’s short story “The Frolic”</span></a> in a book that comes bundled
with a DVD — a 24 minute adaptation of that story directed by Jacob Cooney. Get
it soon, because this product is limited to 1000 copies, and there are signed
editions available. Remarkably, this is the very first cinematic adaptation of
Ligotti’s work — and I must say, it’s an excellent treatment, co-scripted by
Ligotti himself, intensely directed, and well-acted.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In my <a href="http://gorelets.com/blog/dept/not-dead-yet-print-reviews/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Goreletter
reviews,</span></a> I try to shine light on (mostly independent) “print”
books because I feel that other media already get plenty of press and
attention. At first I didn’t want to review The Frolic here because it is a new
film, but the truth is this edition is more of a multimedia “story event” than
your usual DVD release. Here you’ll get a full-blown celebration of the short
story in a perfect-bound paperback which features not only a “newly revised
version” of “The Frolic” (which originally appeared in Ligotti’s first
collection, <a href="http://www.iblist.com/book948.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Songs of a
Dead Dreamer</span></a>), but also an eyebrow-raising introduction by the
author, the complete screenplay for the adaptation by Ligotti and his
screenwriting partner Brandon Trenz, and also enlightening interviews with
everyone involved with the production of the film. Indeed, the book is
everything that would normally appear on a “special features” section of an
ordinary DVD, but here the printed word is so well-respected that it truly
celebrates Ligotti’s mastery as a storyteller above all.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In a nutshell, the short story itself is about the
chilling effect a child killer named “John Doe” has had on his prison house
psychologist, David Munck. The killer, who justifies his actions by claiming he
steals children away to some unearthly place so they can “frolic” together,
disturbs Munck at the core, chipping away at his “objective” scientific
worldview and replacing it with the supernatural. This foments into sheer
terror when Doe refers to a “Colleen” during an interview — a name that sounds
a lot like his own daughter’s, “Noreen,” a name Doe couldn’t possibly know.
Ligotti does a masterful job of fracturing Munck’s world, from his faith in
science and his career to his family relations, and much of the horror of the
story comes from its inevitable, unstoppable conclusion.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Read More from Gorelets <a href="http://gorelets.com/blog/not-dead-yet-print-reviews/the-frolic-by-thomas-ligotti/">Here</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This
is a 2 minute trailer for The Frolic – if you wish to dip your toe into Ligotti’s
dark imagination -<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Kk0x7LvP1sM" width="420"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Though
I would recommend reading the story before viewing the movie, which is available
online here, but remember my warning, ‘The Frolic’ is not for the faint of</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <b>heart -</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="277" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/50857999" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <a href="http://vimeo.com/50857999">The Frolic - short film</a>
from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user11479293">Jacob
Cooney</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
here’s a documentary detailing the making of The Frolic <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/4zSdifAPDPc" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And finally a reminder, it's all a flat circle folks, we hope you have a safe ride</span></div>
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Ali Karimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00640079406581573368noreply@blogger.com1