Thursday 19 July 2012

REFLECTION:
The Art of Lying


We live in a world where it is impolite to be honest, so we lie and we lie often.
We are not just encouraged to lie, we are expected to lie and not just to our acquaintances but to our family, our friends and perhaps even to our lovers.
The biggest lie (big in how often we use it rather than severity), is the greeting, '"Hello, how are you?"

Wednesday 18 July 2012

REFLECTION:
What makes a swear word a swear word?

Why is it acceptable to use one word in company and not another?
Who was it that first said 'f*ck' and then added, "Oh, and by the way, that’s a swear word. Naughty me"?
Why can I use certain words in public and not others?

To confuse the issue further, the makers of TV programmes--in an attempt not to offend viewers and the regulatory bodies--have made up swear words.
PORRIDGE was probably the first with NAFF and NERK but we have later additions with BATTLESTAR GALACTICA’s FRACK and FARSCAPE’s FRELL. So it seems quite acceptable to make up swear words and then to use them in public. We all know what is really being said without actually saying it, so why can’t we just say it--and how soon will it be before these made-up swear words actually end up in the dictionary of swear words and become unacceptable to use? Will future reruns of Porridge be banned before the watershed?
We also have the huge dictionary of swear words that aren’t swear words unless we put them in the wrong (or right) sentence:

Tuesday 17 July 2012

NIGHT OF THE ASSASSIN: Russell Blake

Night of the Assassin is the gritty, edge-of-your seat prequel to King of Swords. A no-holds-barred, breakneck-paced thriller, Night of the Assassin charts the early years of El Rey - the King of Swords - a super-assassin responsible for some of the world's most spectacular and daring executions. Framed against the backdrop of present-day Mexico's brutal narco-trafficking violence, Night of the Assassin chronicles the making of a monster - a cold-blooded, ruthless killing machine. Raw, disturbing, edgy and unflinching, this epic saga defies convention to create a roller-coaster of intrigue, suspense and thrills that will leave even the most jaded thriller aficionados gasping for breath.

I was tantalised by the read-up on this book and was doubly pleased that the book delivered everything that the spiel promised. It is a violent, brutal story expertly portrayed with the violence detailed at just the right pitch. It's not just blood and gore for the sake of it and the author has instinctively known where and when to draw the line with his detail. It's not for the faint hearted though. The main character (whose real name you never learn) is, as the author states, a cold-blooded, ruthless killing machine and I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
It's available only as an eBook and it's not the longest book I've read, but that didn't matter to me. The story's pace was good and well thought out. It started where it needed to start and it ended where it needed to end. I'm also delighted to report that once again, I've found a fellow Indie who pays attention to grammar, punctuation and formatting. Very well presented and definitely one I recommend.

Monday 16 July 2012

Everybody tells me I should blog...

. . . but I'm not exactly sure why.
Do people really want to listen to me blathering on about... well, that's the problem really... what should I blog about? People say, 'talk about anything'. Yeah right, 'cause people want to listen to me ratting on about any old thing . . .
Don't get me wrong, I have sat down and tried to blog and it goes one of two ways depending on whether I stay in the land of fact (I believe it's called Earth) or launch into the world of fiction (I spend a lot of time there you see. It's a very nice, comfortable place where I have lots of friends), and I either end up with a bloody good whinge (that's staying on Earth) or the beginnings of another great story (if I delve into the world of fiction). Now, if I stay in the world of fact, I'll just depress everybody and turn into an old moaner. If I start talking about fiction, I'll end up writing something far too long to be a blog . . . forthcoming book titles already forming in my mind... The Blog in the Night, One Blog too Many, The Blog, Blogs of War, Blog Pound, Black Blog (that last one might be a bit too subtle), One Man and his Blog...
. . . I'm ranting now, aren't I? . . . Do rants count as blogs? Is this a mini-blog? :-D