E-Book review: Discontents, by James Wallace Birch

Discontents, by James Wallace Birch, 2011

Discontents is the second independently published book I have read, and I am impressed.

There is a lot to like in this story. Birch demonstrates his own social awareness and a little of his politics. He’s sympathetic to the same ideals that I am, but also skeptical and a little cynical—like me. And he’s realistic.

This is a political thriller from a different perspective. The main character is not a super-spy, a cop, a politician or a reporter. He really is an outsider, an overeducated, underemployed, disaffected young man who sees the hypocrisy that Western capitalistic society depends on.

The story begins in the author’s own voice, where he describes how he receives a letter one day from an former friend in high school—a friend who ended the friendship by stealing the author’s girlfriend. Then the central character, Emory Walden, leaves to backpack in Europe. In the letter to the author, Emory tells the story of what happened to him after he returned to his home town, and how he found some shadowy organization is trying to kill him.

During his travels, Emory began a blog that criticized Western governments and their corporate buddies—typical young radical stuff. The blog became a hit among discontented youth, whence the title.

When Emory returns to Washington, DC, he realizes he has become the figurehead of a nebulous young revolutionary movement called FAY, for Fear the Art of Youth. Its main accomplishment seems to be large public marches and graffiti.

Emory finds a low-level job and crashes with another friend, Pat, and continues blogging. His star-blogger status attracts a certain kind of young woman, including Pat’s girlfriend; when she puts moves on Emory, Pat throws him out. Violently.

At this point, Emory is contacted by Fletcher Spivey—possibly the hokiest name in literature. Spivey is an old man who made a fortune in the kind of target marketing that makes corporations drool and civil libertarians quake in fear. Young Spivey had been a radical, the kind who wanted to wake people up, to make them aware of how they’re being fooled by the marketers. But he suppressed those convictions when he took over the family business. Now, in his old age, his career behind him, he wants to sponsor Emory and spark a revolution. He sets Emory up with an apartment, a fake identity as “Liam Logan,” cash and an untraceable Internet account. Emory just has to keep blogging, exhort young people to rebel, and to sneak out at night to make graffiti.

Of course, Emory does more than this; he also pursues a romance with Carolyn, who knows him as Emory Walden.

Eventually, Emory’s recklessness catches up with him: the police arrest him for his graffiti. His sentence is exile from DC. (That was a bit of a plot stretch, but maybe Birch was being metaphorical.) One young cop who knows that Liam Logan is really Emory Walden beats him up; Spivey’s assistant, the beautiful but maimed Ella Alice, takes him to a private doctor, who discovers that Emory has a brain tumor and probably won’t survive an operation that might extend his life beyond the three months he’d have without it.

At this point, Emory begins to suspect the FAY movement, of which he is the hidden head—none of the marchers in the streets even know what he looks like—has been infiltrated by the government. Lying in his hospital, he wonders if it’s the local police, the FBI, CIA or NSA. When Fletcher Spivey asks Emory if he would donate his organs if he does not survive the brain operation, Emory finally bolts.

The story is refreshing. The perspective of the real outsider—not someone who has found a comfortable place within this society, but a truly disaffected young man with no prospects—is a welcome change from the standard thriller on the bookshelves. I liked the way that Birch criticizes what’s wrong with our commercial, materialistic society, but at the same time the radical counterculture. The “discontents” are not heros. Birch describes how they’ll march, protest, blog and complain about what’s wrong with society, then drive fancy cars to overpriced nightclubs and spend their parents’ money.

Discontents disproves the arguments that snobbish commercial publishers use to scoff at independent literature. The style is professional: simple, lucid prose. There are a few typos, but I’ve yet to find a commercially published title without any.

The action and the dialogue are mostly believable, and there are no plot holes. The conclusion is satisfying on many levels: it’s plausible, logical, and leaves no loose ends. But it’s not too tidy, either, and not cloyingly sweet—like a Hollywood movie can be.

About the only real criticism I have is that Fletcher Spivey’s dialogue is not believable. He’s effusive past credibility. I know that Birch was trying to portray a wealthy, patrician type, but Spivey goes too far.

What I really liked was the realism the author portrays. He is ambivalent: he criticizes our own society and culture, as well as the counter-culture. Even Emory lives quite comfortably off the largess of one of the powerful that he criticizes. The most sympathetic character in the story is Renton, a homeless man who displays the grace of an acetic.

Overall, five stars to this smart, engrossing story for making me think while entertaining me with a satisfying story and believable characters.

Book Review: Makers, by Cory Doctorow

Makers, by Cory Doctorow

e-book available as free download

With Makers, Cory Doctorow has done something I wish had: he has clearly linked the capitalistic need for economic growth with the waste it generates, the overload on the environment, symbolized by overflowing landfills, and the obesity epidemic in the corrupt, capitalistic West. At the same time, he jabs, lightning-fast, at big capitalism, sleazy journalists, earnest and good journalists who are nevertheless short-sighted business people, the police and the International House of Pancakes.

Doctorow deserves the success he has had as a writer and novelist. His style is clear, simple and fast-paced, and his characters are so believable, I fell like I’ve met them all.

Makers is set an unclear, but small number of years in the future, just after a huge economic collapse that leaves behind empty strip malls and abandoned homes on crumbling highways across America. On the other hand, maybe it’s history.

The story starts with Suzanne, a reporter with a San Jose paper who is covering the announcement of a merger of Duracell and Kodak. Since no one buys batteries or film anymore, “Kodacell” ditches those products completely. The new CEO, the brash young money genius XX, announces a radical new business model: Kodacell is going to back small-scale entrepreneurs who invent innovative new products. This sparks a “new work” revolution. People around the world start making new inventions and innovations geared at everyday needs. It works until it falls apart in a typical boom-and-bust cycle.

The focus of the novel is on the first cell, started by two self-employed engineers named Perry and Lester. They harvest discarded technology from landfills and set up a laboratory-shop in an abandoned strip mall in Florida. They explain to reporter Suzanne that so-called obsolete technology, like last year’s iPod, still contains powerful technology that can be repurposed. The demonstrate with a bunch of “Boogie-Woogie Elmo” dolls: toys that are actually robots that can walk and dance and talk. Lester and Perry reprogram them to drive a car.

With Kodacell money behind them, Lester and Perry begin developing all sorts of new technologies, which eventually coalesce into “the Ride.” This is an amusement-park type ride which shows past technologies and toys in American homes through the decades. It’s heart-wrenchingly nostalgic, as well as energizing: Perry and Lester open-source the Ride and copies, or actually different versions, pop up all across America, and then the world. (Strangely, there is little mention of Canada in the whole book—and Doctorow is a Canadian writer!)

From both geek and social consciousness points of view, one of the most interesting parts of the story is how the sharing of the Ride’s content adapts the content itself, as well as the society it reflects. There could be a whole doctoral thesis on this idea, but this novel is far more interesting.

One of the most delicious aspects of the book is the villain: the Disney corporation, or more specifically, a rising executive in Disney. Doctorow is a skilful enough writer that he can evoke revulsion at the culture-constraining aspect of Disney, while admiring how well it does what it does.

The story is not perfect (but what is?) I can’t believe the utopia of the squatter society. Surely, any conglomeration of people that size would have some bad people, and without any kind of policing, there should have been a lot of crime. At the very least, criminal gangs would have moved into the squatter town, unopposed by anything.

Maybe Doctorow is trying to make a point here, that problems are caused by the power structure that represses people with little wealth, but I cannot believe that. And it’s a shame, because everything else is absolutely credible—even the Elmo dolls that can drive a car.

Debt doublespeak, or Is the economy producing more than we can consume?

The sound bites and news clips from politicians and economics meisters of the world about the Greek debt crisis—seemingly the epicentre of the current economic turmoil—defy logic. To avoid defaulting on its debt, Greece needs more bailout money. Without it, say the financial experts, Greece will be bankrupt.

Isn’t needing to borrow more money just to pay the interest on your existing loans a definition of bankrupt?

Last weekend, the G20 met in Washington. Soon after that, Canadian Prime Minister Harper, Finance Minister Flaherty and Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney conferred—a “historic” meeting.

What links all these? Their common goal: restoring economic confidence. The turmoil in the stock, commodity market and currency markets is causing a lack of confidence among consumers and investors; without confidence, we don’t buy stuff. And if we don’t buy stuff, the factories and shipping lines around the world grind to a halt, which leads to a recession, which leads to job losses, so we consumers won’t be able to ... buy stuff.

Other than Somalia, there are no major famines in the world. Food shortages are typically caused by war, crime or grossly unjust distribution of wealth. In the West, obesity is a greater problem than hunger.

The point is, there is enough of what everyone needs to go around. There is enough food for everyone in the horn of Africa; the challenge is in getting it to them.

Even if a recession were to quell factories in China, India, Mexico and North America, even if workers were unemployed, I doubt there would be mass starvation. There would just be more debt.

The other side of the debt coin, as Margaret Atwood pointed out, is that someone is lending all this money.

Something that no one ever mentions is that there is a lot of money that somebody wants to lend, even at ridiculously low interest rates. In North America, at least, it’s easy for almost anyone to get a credit card. The capacity to produce money and goods of all kinds is huge.

Perhaps part of the problem now is that the economy produces more than we can consume. That would explain rising obesity rates.

Forty years ago or so, the Club of Rome published a book called Limits to Growth. It predicted that the world’s economy could only grow so much until it depleted Earth’s resources. The book was pooh-poohed by those in power. But maybe the Club of Rome was just looking at the question from the wrong end: maybe the problem isn’t the limit of production, but of consumption.

No one needs a new iPhone, big-screen TV, diamond-encrusted watch or SUV. But if we all want to have comfortable retirements, we have to make sure other people keep consuming at the level they used to. Or we have to change our dreams.

In the 40s and 50s, science fiction author Frederick Pohl wrote a series of satiric stories about the problem of over-production: in the future, the economy produces so much that people use robots to consume the over-production of other robots. In this particular dystopia, the upper classes don’t have to consume as much, while the lower classes are plagued with consumption quotas.

Like hand-held communicators, lasers and space travel, this may be one science-fiction ideas that could come true.

What do you think?

How I fixed my Apple Mail program

I got up early on Sunday morning to write the next entry for my travel blog, scottstravelblog.wordpress.com. First, though, I decided send out a few more emails about my newly-published story, Sam, the Strawb Part. (See my earlier post, "A Smashwords virgin no more," about my experience in e-book publishing.

Suddenly, my Mail program quit and gave me an error message. I tried to relaunch, but within two minutes, the program quit again. The error message gave a long list of details, but of course none of them made any sense to me.

Disk Repair told me that there were some permission files and indices that needed fixing. I ran the program and restarted. While the computer went through that routine, I went to do some chores. Washed floors, windows, bathrooms. After the repairs, Mail still crashed.

I looked online for answers; there is (not surprisingly) nothing in Apple’s Support site. Google showed lots of forums and bitching about the problem of Mail suddenly quitting unexpectedly, but the discussions were not helpful.

So, I called Apple’s Help line. After about 5 minutes of voicemail and waiting, I got in touch with a representative, who asked for my name and my computer’s serial number. Sonia listened to my description of the problem and put me on hold; five minutes later, a man came on the line. He had my account information, but after he listened to my description of the problem, told me that my 90-day free telephone support period was over and, while he knew what was wrong with the system, it would cost me $49.95 to find out what it was.

I said “thank you, good-bye” and hung up. Fifty bucks? I resolved to try to solve it myself.

I went back to Apple’s site. Searching through the Support and Products pages brought up only one hint, which turned out not to be so good. I deleted Mail from the Applications folder, then reinstalled it from the Install DVD that came with the iMac. When I tried to launch Mail after that, I got an error message that said the current version of Mail is no longer compatible with the OS. In the intervening 11 months since buying the computer, the online upgrades had rendered obsolete the version of Mail that came with the computer. Running System Update didn’t help.

I went back to chores. Filled a bucket with water and some vinegar to wash the windows. Got an idea, and reinstalled Snow Leopard from the DVD. While the computer did that, I painted two window frames. When the installation was finished and the computer restarted, I launched Mail again. It opened this time, but crashed in about a minute.

I got fed up. I called Apple’s support line again and said, politely but firmly, that the machine is still under the one-year warranty, the problem is in the OS (Mail is considered part of the OS), and I wanted to be put in touch with someone who could tell me how to fix the problem. After a few clicks and voicemail shuffles, I was connected with Dan, who politely and patiently helped me fix the problem. He spent close to an hour with me and was very courteous throughout.

It was frustrating, because after a while Mail would crash within a few seconds of launch, and there was not even enough time to check the advanced Preferences. Eventually, after eliminating some other possibilities, Dan suggested moving some .plist files from the Library-Mail folder.

That stabilized Mail. I had to re-enter my account settings, but once I did, Dan tested it with an email, which worked fine. I even got all my old emails and folders back!

Lessons learned:

- back up using Time Machine regularly

- be firm but polite about demanding the support you’re entitled to under warranties

- extend the AppleCare protection before the year is out

- take advantage of rebuilding and verifying cycles to do household chores.

7 things about me ... no, wait, 10!

I have also been remiss about participating in two games of blog tag. I’ve been tagged by Barbara McDowell, http://writenowlife.wordpress.com/, and Sher Hart of http://www.sherahart.com/sf-writers-fancies-blog.html, who generously gave me a “Versatile Blogger Award.” Thanks, Sher!

Of course, there’s always a price. In this case, I have to write seven random things about myself, then pass it on to four other bloggers. Here are the seven:

1. I got hooked on writing when I was very young, like around the fourth grade or so. It was through Composition class, when I discovered that anyone could make up stories. So I did. I like the process of writing as well as having written.

2. I always try to be different in my writing. I do not like clichés. In my stories, the main characters never fit into a mold or stock character.

3. I like to travel. When I get to a new city or town, I love just to walk around for a couple of hours and poke into out of the way places. I like museums and such, but I also like just looking at neighbourhoods and sitting in a cafe or restaurant.

4. I may have undiagnosed ADD. And I love pie. And you know what bugs me? People who don’t finish what they start to say ... oh, wait, I have to check my Twitter account.

5. I’m not as funny as I think I am.

6. I drink too much coffee. But I’m not addicted. WHERE’S MY COFFEE?

7. I never read forms carefully enough.

There. Seven random things about me, for the Versatile Blogger Award. I have to come up with three more for another blogging tag game . Barbara McDowell, of writerolife.wordpress.com, wants me to write 10 random things about myself.

8. I often stay later at work than I have to.

9. I don’t fix things when I should. Now the warranty’s expired! Ohtenose!

10. I find Facebook frustrating.

There. Now, to tag a bunch of other bloggers. Get into it, pass it on, it helps raise our profiles! At least among other writers and bloggers.



Bloggers who deserve to follow this include:

James Wallace Birch, author of Discontents and the Posterous blog: http://dttla.posterous.com/

Joe Crubaugh, author of satirical Cleo Matts thrillers: http://joecrubaugh.com/blog/

Cheryl Sonnier’s “Off wi’ the fairies”: http://offwithefairies.blogspot.com/

Sherry Davis Zander’s “Writing 4 Effect” http://writing4effect.wordpress.com/

Consider yourself tagged!

Blogs worth following

I guess I dropped the ball on the First Campaigner Challenge from Rachael Harrie's Platform-Building Campaign. Sorry.

So, I 'm not going to wait any longer. First, here are some blogs that I think you should check out:

Of course, Rachael Harrie's "Rach Writes ..." http://rachaelharrie.blogspot.com/

Now, some writers that are in the same Campaign group as me:
Michael Haynes "A Writing Blog" http://michael-haynes.blogspot.com/
Sher Hart's "SF Writer's Fancies Blog" http://www.sherahart.com/sf-writers-fancies-blog.html
Michele Chiappetta's "The Chipper Muse" http://www.thechippermuse.blogspot.com/
Bill Jones Jr.'s "This page intentionally blank" - interesting serial - http://thisblogblank.wordpress.com/
Niiganab: http://niiganab.blogspot.com/
Of course, there are many more, including the First Contest winner or runner-up, 1000th Monkey. But she does not need any more help from me!
 
Anyway, they all write interesting blogs and I'm subscribing to them, where I can. Check them out!

Weasel-word watch: when not saying it, says more

This week, not communicating has done more in official circles than saying anything at all. Unfortunately, the results are not good for most people.

Yesterday, the Air Canada flight attendants’ union caved in to the threat of back to work legislation and accepted what will doubtlessly prove to be disappointing for the workers. But no matter what side of that debate you took (or maybe, somewhere in the middle, like me—I have never Air Canada flight staff very helpful or friendly, compared to those on other airlines), the fact is that the threat of back-to-work legislation was as effective as the legislation itself. Maybe it was even more effective, because it achieved the government’s goal without the time, stress and expense of debate in the House of Commons.

Meanwhile, today at the UN, diplomats are scurrying to convince enough members of the Security Council to abstain from voting on Palestine’s request for full membership, so that the US does not have to veto it. It’s curious—we all know that the US opposes Palestinian statehood now, but somehow, it’s better that it does not veto this change in UN status. But the message is still clear.

We as readers, writers, communicators and citizens need to think about this. Why do we accept this kind of weasel word use? Why do we let politicians bully us into accepting what we do not want, without even explaining what they’re doing? If we would argue when someone says something we disagree with, but accept it when they say nothing, but achieve the same results or perform the same action?

Mercedes’ new ad for its coupe is one of the stupidest TV commercials I have ever seen.

Have you seen it? It starts with close-ups of chains wrapping around part of a car. The far ends of the chains are fastened, somehow, to a mountainside. There are a lot of quick cuts between the car and the mountain, but they’re so fast it’s hard to tell exactly what’s going on. In the meantime, a car’s engine revs and revs, faster and faster.

Finally, the silver sedan takes off down the road and the chains unfurl until they reach their limit. At this point, we see that the chains were wrapped around the rear doors. As the car continues, the chains rip the doors off, and the car, now a two-door coupe, rockets along until is drifts to a stop.

Am I supposed to be impressed that some maniac ripped the doors off an overpriced car?

How does this make anyone want to drive a Mercedes?

Fail.

A Smashwords virgin no more

Yesterday evening, I published using Smashwords and Amazon for the first time. The subject was my short story written in support of Asperger’s Syndrome and other autism-spectrum disorders, “Sam, the Strawb Part.” I’m happy to say that it’s now available on both Smashwords’ and Amazon’s sites for the low, low price of just $1.99. All proceeds from sales go to Children at Risk, and Ottawa-based charity that supports children with autism spectrum disorders and their families.

I am also happy to say that it was very easy. I had already registered accounts as a buyer with both Smashwords and Amazon, as a customer, and they don’t require any further steps to register as a publisher.

The important thing with publishing on Smashwords is to set up your document properly. Follow the Style Guide. Keep your document simple, using only one or two standard fonts, and don’t add extra elements like running headers and footers. Smashwords’ “Meat Grinder” formatting and publishing application will take care of that. And don’t add page breaks or extra tabs or hard returns (Enter), either.

You can add hyperlinks and images, as long as they’re embedded. You can also have a hyperlinked table of contents, which is essential for a longer, technical book, nice for long novels, but not necessary at all for a short story. If you want to include a ToC, make sure you follow the Style Guide carefully.

Smashwords demands that you put “Smashwords edition” or “Published by [publisher] on Smashwords” in the copyright information at the front of your book. The Style Guide also recommends that you add your author bio and photo at the end. I complied with their recommendation to add hyperlinks to my own website, blogs and Twitter account.

Don’t forget about an International Standard Book Number (ISBN). This is essential for listing your book on some retailers’ sites, like Apple’s iBooks. You can get your own—I did—or you can go through Smashwords for that. Remember, every edition should have its own ISBN. I registered two numbers, one for the Smashwords edition and one for the Amazon edition. The rules governing ISBNs stipulate that you use different numbers for each format, which means MOBI (Amazon), PDF, LRF and so on. And another one for paper, as well. Smashwords automatically converts your manuscript into all the different electronic formats and, eventually, distributes them to different retailers in the formats they require; however, it has no way of assigning different ISBNs to each of them, yet. If you want to follow the letter of the ISBN rules, then you’ll have to register your manuscript for each different version, get a different ISBN for each one, and then upload each one separately to Smashwords, selecting just one format for each ISBN. I did not do that, however. Maybe next time.

Finally, the cover. Save the image and and text—title, author, publisher, tags, etc.—into one JPEG file. Since it’s one image, you can use the craziest typeface you want. Smashwords associates the cover and document files and puts them together quite nicely.

Then, in the Smashwords publishing interface, all I had to do was fill in the information about title, format, uploading the cover image and uploading the document file. It took a few minutes for Smashwords to process the files, but I watched Boardwalk Empire on demand TV while I waited.

The last step was to update my publisher and author information. I added the same picture that I have on this blog and copied the bio from the back of the story, plus links to my LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook pages and my blogs.

Done! My story was right there!

Next, the Amazon version. I copied the file, and saved it as a different version. I changed the ISBN for the Amazon version and took out the mentions of Smashwords. Then I logged into my account and selected “Self-publish with Us” at the bottom of the page. Follow the instructions, upload the cover and document files, update the author information, and it’s done. The interface notified me that it had successfully uploaded the files and that it would take 24 hours to appear on the catalog, but I found it this morning, maybe 13 hours later! Thanks, Amazon.

If you want to see (or buy) the story, you can go to http://smashwords.com/b/89276.
To view my Smashwords Author Profile, visit http://smashwords.com/profile/view/ScottBury

So, you see, it’s quite an easy process. Now the hard part, to promote it. I’ll keep you posted on how that is going, too.

Starting to publish

I am about to try publishing through Smashwords for the first time.

Before I use a publishing system like Smashwords, Createspace or Amazon for my long novel, I thought I’d ease the learning curve with something short. I decided on a short story called “Sam, the Strawb Part.” It’s about a boy who, among other things, slurs his words so much it’s almost impossible to understand him. “Strawb part” is what others hear when he says “strawberry pirate.”

What is a strawberry pirate? You’ll have to read the story to find out. I plan to make it available by the end of this week—I know, it’s coming fast—and all proceeds from the sale will go to charity.

Smashwords
From what I’ve been reading, the Smashwords system seems pretty easy to follow. The service began only a couple of years ago, and according to its President, Mark Coker, has released over 44,000 books by 17authors and publishers since then.

Smashwords sells the books through its own online retailing system, and any books produced through it can also be bought through Sony’s online bookstore (for the Sony e-reader), Barnes and Noble (for its Nook), Diesel, Apple’s iBookstore (for iBooks for the iPad) and others. Of course, Amazon has its own publishing system. I’ll try that next, and I’ll write about my experience with it, too.

Signing up for Smashwords is free. The company makes its revenue by keeping a percentage, I think 15 percent, of each sale. The rest goes to the publisher or author—the source of the book.
After signing up, the first step in publishing a book on Smashwords is to download and read The Smashwords Style Guide. This is one of the best step-by-step guides I have ever read. The writing is clear, there are lots of pictures, and it’s organized extremely well. The order is completely intuitive.
I’ve read it, and I think I understand it. I have a lot of experience in publishing, but one of the early warnings in the guide not to assume that what you’ve learned in publishing, particularly paper publishing, can be transferred to e-books.

I like the idea that my Smashwords book can include in-line pictures, although I don’t plan on having many, other than a cover image and a back image of my own face. You can use hyperlinks, as long as the hypertext is embedded properly. This is important, as I will use some images that require attribution via a hyperlink. And you can also have a linked table of contents—crucial for longer and technical works, but not really for a short story.

One limitation of Smashwords is that it really wants to start with a .doc file, which means something created using Microsoft Word. Yes, I know it’s the de facto standard, and it’s pretty open in the sense that there are several programs that can create or save .doc files. But it’s still a commercial system. It’s a minor point, but I think it would be nice of Smashwords could accept other file formst. On the other hand, that would make the system more difficult, complex and therefore costly to maintain.

Anyway, it’s not a problem, since I have an old version of Word that I use fairly regularly. And Smashwords, or at least its head, Mark Coker, seems to prefer the older version that I use—the one that creates .doc files, not .docx files.

Next, the Guide advises writers to make Word behave itself. First, turn off most of the AutoCorrect functions. I couldn’t agree more. It drives me nuts when Word helpfully changes the whole document to boldface when I only wanted to boldface a single word.

The Guide explicitly tells you which features to reset, and illustrates them, too. Other warnings that bear repeating: don’t indent with tabs or (worst of all) multiple spaces on the space bar; don’t hard-return after every line, and so on. And finally, the Guide prescribes the title and copyright information required for listing in the Premier Catalog, and ends with some advice about the end matter.

I cannot recommend The Smashwords Style Guide highly enough. It could help with publishing through almost any system, I think. So, I’m going to put “Sam, the Strawb Part” through the process, and I’ll post the results and my thoughts about it right here, and on Twitter, too.

Writing tip o’ the month: Make sure you’re saying what you want to say

Here’s something that bugs me: sentences constructed as “this needs to happen.” For example, on a news report about the lack of mental health care workers in Nunavut, the journalist said “more nurses need to be hired in Nunavut.” Maybe nurses do need to be hired. Professionals need jobs. But that’s not the point the journalist wanted to make. What the writer was trying to say was “The territory needs to hire more nurses.” This is what I call a “false active” sentence. Grammatically, it is active—the subject performs the verb. However, the idea that the writer wants to express is that the object of the sentence needs the subject: “Nunavut needs to hire more nurses.” In other words, the sentence is structured in reverse of the intended meaning. It all goes back to the writing process that I outlined oh so long ago: get a GRIP. What are you trying to say? State your main idea in one clear sentence. This will allow you to express all your ideas clearly to your audience. Then, if you apply that focus to the entire written piece, whether it’s a news article or a novel or anything in between, you can be sure that you’re writing what you want to express. I admit that most audiences can interpret the real meaning. But we’re not always dealing with native English speakers. So let’s be clear, and let’s make sure we are actually writing what we mean.

Like to read? Check out these blogs

I’ve been following and participating in Rachael Harrie’s Writers Platform-Building Campaign, as I’ve mentioned. I try to visit a couple of blogs of other participants each day, and comment on blogs that I like.
This is by no means a comprehensive list, nor even a systematic one. I just randomly clicked on some of the blogs and links in Rachael's page. If I liked the story, blog or writing style, I took note of it. And if I didn't like the writing or the story, I'll just ignore it from now on.

Here are some that I think are worth visiting. Maybe I'll have a chance to review some more.

KM Walton’s “Some Things I Think,” http://skateorbate.blogspot.com/

Michael Haynes’ “A Writing Blog,” http://michael-haynes.blogspot.com/

1000th Monkey, http://1000thmonkey.blogspot.com

Richard P. Hughes’ “Writing and Living,” http://richard-writingandliving.blogspot.com/

Barbara McDowell’s Blog, http://writenowlife.wordpress.com/

Jolene Stockman, http://jolenestockman.blogspot.com/

Michelle Helene’s “A Wanderer in Paris,” http://wanderingparis.blogspot.com/

JR Williams’ “My Road to Freedom,” http://jr-williams.com/blog/

Rebecca Emin’s “Ramblings of a Rusty Writer,” http://ramblingsofarustywriter.blogspot.com/

Shelly Koon’s “Dark Writes,” http://shelleykoon.com/author/

SL Pierce’s “Pierce Books,” http://slpiercebooks.blogspot.com/

I like their writing, their contributions to the Campaign, and/or their blogs, themselves. Check them out!

One more thing: I have to give some extra praise to SL Pierce's writing. Her entry led me to her site, with more of her stories. I really liked "Never, Ever Bring This up Again." A great example of the noir mystery with lots of twists and double-crosses, deftly condensed into a very short story (but just a little too long to fit Harrie's requirements). And I'm very intrigued by her other stories, as well. Great characters!

9/11: where I was, 10 years ago

Barbara McDowell from the #writecampaign blog circle pointed me to this entry from a blogger who was in the US military in 2011. LadyJai writes a touching and very illuminating post about her personal experience in 9/11, 2001. It's a relief from all the hype and self-serving nattering from the so-called journalists and insane conspiracy theorists.

Jai asked about others' experience on that day, so here is mine:

I had thought September 11, 2001 would be a significant day. At the time, I was working at Canada's central bank, and the Deputy Governor was holding a breakfast meeting that was supposed to launch some significant initiative. How silly that seems now, in comparison!

We came out of the meeting a few minutes before 9:00, and a coordinator in the communications section said "A plane just hit the World Trade Centre." There's a World Trade Building here in Ottawa, and I first thought of it. But no, it was soon obvious that something far more important was happening.

I hoped at first that it was an accident, but when I heard of the second plane hitting the other tower, well, we all knew we were watching the unfolding of a horrendous plan.

"It has to be Arab terrorists," said someone else in the communications section. I tried to argue that we didn't know anything yet. I pointed out that the previous case of US terrorism, the Oklahoma City bombing, was an example of domestic, home-grown terror, but that wasn't convincing anyone.

And I was drowned out: all the news channels and commentators were talking about Arab or Muslim terrorists, US enemies from the Middle East. We heard about a plane hitting the Pentagon, rumours of a fourth crashing in Pennsylvania, a fifth missing. We watched TV news reports of all the aircraft being diverted to the closest airport, about hundreds of US flights landing in Canadian airports.

It was all so hard to believe. All these news reports, all this coverage, and almost no information.

We watched replay after replay of the planes hitting the buildings. Then we watched, live, as the South Tower collapsed. I nearly collapsed, myself. The greatest horror I'd ever imagined, on TV, in front of me, and it was real.

There have been so many events that followed from that day, so much change in the world. There have been hopeful signs, but much (truthers, birthers, ravers from all sides and every shade of the political spectrum) that is discouraging.

Still, I am hopeful. The US has been the home of so much good, and so much pain, as well. Americans have shown the best and the worst qualities of humanity. But I am still hopeful that the best will win out, finally.

To all my US friends, I wish you the best on this most painful anniversary. I think you will, finally, make the right choices and embrace the best of yourselves.

It's time, long past time, to put aside the ridiculous enmity between the "West" and the "Muslim world." We are all brothers and sisters, after all. We all want the same for our children.

My heartfelt best wishes to all. Never again! It's up to each one of us.

Pre-internet memes: "I am sorry for writing a long letter"

Who said “I am sorry for writing such a long letter. I did not have time for a short one”?


I’ve read it attributed to Mark Twain, Samuel Pepys, Oscar Wilde and now, Goethe. Did they all say it? If so, who said it first? And when did it become a pre-Internet meme?

I agree with the idea, but it has become a cliché, all the more annoying for the fact that it is so misattributed.

I would love to hear who actually said this. Let me know if you know.

Campaign Challenge: 200 word flash fiction

Here is my first entry for the Writers' Platform-Building Campaign. The challenge is to write a story or poem of 200 words, beginning with the words, "The door swung open."

I'm claiming extra points (are there points?) for having the story at exactly 200 words, excluding the title, and ending with "the door swung shut."

Here goes:

The Ruined Prison of Richard the Lion-Heart


The door swung open with a drawn-out squeal. Two little girls echoed with squeals as they scampered out. One squeal turned into a whine as Daddy picked up the smaller one and admonished her in gentle French as she squabbled to stay in the ruins.

The door squealed again as Max bent his 6-foot-four frame to enter the dungeon. “Hey, Richard the Lion-Heart,” I said as I got the camera ready. It beeped and whirred as Max shut the cage door and made a sad face.

I joined Max in the dungeon. Strange how it was so cool inside, high up on this mountain overlooking the Danube, which sparkled green, far below the ruined parapet of the Burgruine Durnstein.

“Is that where Richard was imprisoned?” Natasha asked as she stepped carefully down the path. King Richard I was imprisoned on his way back from the Crusades until he was rescued by a minstrel. Now, tourists picnicked and took pictures, and wondered about the people who built and lived in this place so long ago.

“Guess so,” Max answered. He stepped out to freedom, and we followed him down, more mindful of the shifting gravel underfoot as the door swung shut.

Why is open Wifi so scarce in Ottawa?

Take a look at some of the lists of free, open wifi spots available in Ottawa today. It's pathetic. Look at this site: published in 2007, it shows maybe seven places in Ottawa-Gatineau with free wifi. Today’s list from the ogWifi organization, which promotes free, open Wifi in Ottawa and Gatineau, lists 12 sites in this urbanization of a million inhabitants. And the number has hardly grown in the past two years—a period in which wifi technology and wifi access around the world has exploded.

The list does not include places that charge one way or another for wireless Internet access, such as Bridgehead coffee shops, where you have to buy something to get a password. (Even then, most of the time my iPad cannot find the network.)

Let's compare that to other major cities. I found that Vienna, Austria and Lausanne, Switzerland, have free, open wifi access in large public areas such as squares and plazas. Granted, it may be slow, but it's well ahead of nothing at all.

I heard years ago about proposals to offer free wireless access throughout downtown areas of Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. And there is free access in a couple of areas, such as around Parliament Hill, reportedly. 

But this is pathetic. Why not have free, open wifi access in most public areas of the city, which would allow anyone with a wireless-equipped computer to get onto the net?

Could it be because the alternative is 3G access through a cell phone account? Access which is much more expensive?

Could it be that there are few sponsors for wifi access, because Canada's two Internet access providers are also the two main mobile phone and land-line providers, namely Rogers and Bell?

Is this anti-competitive behaviour?

What do you think?

The third Writers' Platform-Building Campaign

Now I’ve done it.


I agreed to join the Writers’ Platform-Building Campaign, a “crusade” organized by author and blogger Rachael Harrie. Her blog is Rach Writes, at http://rachaelharrie.blogspot.com//.

I was informed about the whole campaign by another blogger on a LinkedIn forum that I participate in sporadically. Actually, I do a lot of stuff sporadically, but that’s another story.

What appealed to me about the campaign is its purpose: helping writers build their Internet presence by sharing blog links and tweets. Sounds simple. But I found out about the campaign on the last day to join, August 31, so I jumped in and tried to sign up without thinking too much about it. After all, what’s the worst that could happen?

Well, I don’t know. I’ll give it a try. I’m going to put some links in this blog to some of the other blogs that I found through the campaign and that appeal to me, somehow. And I’ll tweet about them, too. Since you can see all my tweets in the column on the right, you’ll see them, too.

I’m just a little nervous about how much work this will all entail. It sounds simple, just a few clicks here and there; but as I’ve found, all this social mediaing takes a lot of time.

I’ll tell you what it was like at the end of the month.

I’ve started my next novel

It’s completely different from the one that is now in the publishing process, The Bones of the Earth. I plan to launch that one in late September.

Completing and getting close to publication of my first novel energized me. In July, I participated in the JulNoWriMo, the novel-writing month for the summer (based on the better-known NaNoMo, the National Novel Writing Month, which is every November). I learned that I really could write a complete, novel-length work of prose in 30 days.

The other thing that I learned was for that to work, I really had to have an outline—a plan for how to get from the premise of the book to the conclusion in a way that made sense and with a plot that didn’t have huge holes, or that wandered into dead ends.

I guess you could say that I was inspired. By the end of July, I had actually completed two novels! So I had no more excuses to put off completing another one. I took out the work that had been making me feel the most guilty about not finishing for so many years: it’s a biography, in novel form, of my late father-in-law. The story focuses on his experience in the Red Army during the Second World War.

I had started to write is as an adventure-war story. The story itself is quite thrilling: a college student gets drafted into the Red Army, gets wounded at Kyiv, returns to the fighting, gets captured by the Germans, manages to escape with the 12 men in his command and get them across occupied Ukraine, enters the resistance against the Nazis and then against the resurgent Communists, gets re-drafted into the Red Army and fights as an enlisted man from Estonia to Berlin. I had written probably 40,000 words in the story before I stopped it when the subject of the book passed away. That was over seven years ago. It’s sat on my shelf since, and while I’ve looked at it and done some work on it since, mostly checking facts, it’s bothered me that I have not been able to finish it.

On my vacation in early August, I worked out the outline. I guess it was a boost in confidence that allowed me to change the focus and the style of the story. I wrote out the outline while staying at the Hotel de la Paix in Lausanne, Switzerland. Now, I can say that I began writing the novel in the same hotel that hosted James Joyce, Scott Fitzgerald and other internationally known writers. 

Me, working out the framework of my next novel on the balcony of my suite at the Hotel de la Paix, Lausanne, Switzerland. In the background, beyond the crane, is Lac Léman (Lake Geneva).

My plan now is to write or re-write at least 2000 words a day and finish a draft by the middle of October. I know that’s realistic. I have a lot of the book already written, but I need to re-write it for a new tone and style I’ve decided on.

I’m going to post more on this blog about my progress or any snags I run into. I’ll also Tweet about my progress @ScottTheWriter. Hope to write to you again soon!

Tolerance is not that hard: resolving the Muslim-Western divide

“Sharia: a law unto itself?” by Jonathan Wynne-Jones (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8686504/Sharia-a-law-unto-itself.html) looks at the conflict that is causing so much anguish in the U.K., the West and around the world. It brings up a question most politicians, at least in the West, want to avoid: are these two worlds irreconcilable?

The article is about how Sharia Law has been allowed by the U.K. legal system for use in marriages and divorces and other “community” or “family” disputes, and how some in the U.K. are concerned that it is creating a parallel legal system that denies women’s rights and other human rights.

The article mentions posters that proclaimed some London neighbourhoods as “Sharia-controlled zones,” where gambling, alcohol and music were banned, and how some Britons complain that in their areas, they can no longer buy non-halal meat, and where swimwear ads are spray-painted.

While the article is even-handed, the response in the online comments is very negative and polarized. Many mention the origins of Sharia law and its links, or lack of them, to the Quran. They bring up the historical fairness and justice of Western/Christian societies, Muslim civilizations, mutual massacres in history and so on. It’s discouraging to read the knee-jerk vituperation on both sides of this argument.

I would like to move the discussion forward, starting with three assumptions:

1: there are profound differences between the Muslim and Western value systems, but there are profound commonalities, as well.

2: I don’t think I’m going out on a limb by saying that peaceful accord is what most of us want.

3: we can’t change the past. If you look, you can find all sorts of evil in history perpetrated in the name of just about every religion. We can, however, choose what to do now and what kind of future we will strive for.

As far as I understand it, the British, and most Western, value systems and legal systems prize equality of all, coupled with accommodation for multicultural traditions and values. This occasionally conflicts with the values seen in the Muslim societies, especially those governed by explicit Sharia law. As Wynne-Jones points out, these conflicts are apparent in divorce and inheritance laws, among others.

Still, migrants from other countries to the U.K. came because, presumably, they thought they would be better off in the U.K. (in this case) than in their home countries. And part of what makes the U.K. more attractive, I would argue, is the social value and legal system, which includes equality of all before the law (and in commercial dealings, employment, etc.) Some of the values that make the West so attractive to so many include equality, tolerance of differences and freedom of expression.

Immigrants will change the society they come to. That’s neither good nor bad (personally, I like all the new restaurants), it’s a fact. An immigrant citizen is as much as citizen as someone born in the country, be it the U.K., Switzerland, Canada or the U.S.

Which means that, while I do not like the face veil, I won’t object if a woman wants to wear one. I have the right to say that it’s harmful to women’s rights, that it’s useless and that it opens a person to some pretty vicious criticism. But if you want to do it, fine. (But not for I.D. , in court or to vote.)

And if you only eat one kind of meat, that’s your choice. And if you do not want to drink alcohol, by all means. But at the same time, no one should be preventing me from walking around without a face mask, or buying pork or alcohol or both together. (Yum!)

This is where, I think, many people in the West feel threatened by the influx of Muslim immigrants and their invoking of tolerance and anti-discrimination laws: they’re afraid of losing some of their choices. But the solution is not name-calling, dredging up ancient conflicts that really don't involve anyone today or repeating extremist ideas. Nor is it insisting that others adhere to our own ways of doing things. As I said, if you don't want to drink alcohol, that's your choice. But you should not stand in front of someone else choosing to do so, as long as he or she is not hurting or endangering anyone. We need to tear down borders, not put up higher ones.

I know, it sounds so trite. But it's really simple. We can get along.

So I am asking all who read those, and those who don’t as well (pass this on!) to move on from the knee-jerk reaction and reminders of past massacres. To both sides: tolerance is not that hard. Now, how can we bring equal rights to all? Do Muslims want equal rights for women? Let me know.

Skype on the iPad2

I needed to make a couple of phone calls in Lausanne, Switzerland, and turned to Skype as the cheapest alternative.

While my Rogers (a big Canadian provider) cell phone could access the wireless system in Austria, it apparently is not compatible with the Swiss phone system. Or so, everyone who sells prepaid phone access told us. I'm not sure it was true, because both Rogers phones that we brought along showed they had a signal. However, I did not want to waste 10 francs to find out. (Have you seen how it's appreciated, lately? Almost 40 percent against the Canadian dollar in four months!)

So, when we needed to make a couple of phone calls, I downloaded Skype to my iPad2. Again, better preparation would have helped. Fortunately, Lausanne, Switzerland has several open WiFi spots in public squares. Unfortunately, the access is slow. It took nearly half an hour to download the Skype app.

Skype works well on the iPad2, except for one thing: the microphone doesn't seem to deliver enough volume. Also, I found that the Kensington case/Bluetooth keyboard covers the microphone. I cannot even see it. I had to take the iPad out of the case to make myself heard on the phone.

Skype's iPad app could be more intuitive. For one thing, the button for dialing a new number disappears just when you need it. I found I had to click on Contacts just to bring the dialing button back to the top of the screen.

As for a phone, the iPad2 is awkward. I guess you could hold it up to your head like an oversized iPhone, with the front camera near your mouth and the speaker well past your ear, but it would be better with ear buds.

The vagaries of free WiFi

Using the basic iPad2 for mobile electronic Internet access leaves you dependent on the willingness of others to offer free, unprotected WiFi access. And you know how vulnerable you are when you travel and depend on others for anything.

In my case, as I travel through Austria and Switzerland, I am surprised both when WiFi is available as well as when it is not. I have come to expect it in hotels, and I do not understand why hotels that provide free WiFi access sometimes put password protection on it. If someone next door hitches a ride on your bandwidth, how does that really hurt you?

It’s annoyingly ironic when a hotel provides free Internet access to all paying guests, but through a wired port. They’re being quite generous when they even have an Ethernet cable ready to plug into your laptop—except that in my case, I don’t have a laptop. The iPad’s complete wireless advantage turns into a disadvantage in this case.

But then there are times when access is bafflingly impossible. For instance, yesterday I sat down in a Starbucks in Geneva (another surprise: a sign on the door celebrated the location’s 10^th anniversary!): partly because I needed an air-conditioned break; partly because I still like Starbuck’s American-style coffee, even though I was in the land of European-style coffee; and partly because I wanted to log onto the Internet.

Now, while Geneva’s Starbucks location offers free, open WiFi access like all other Starbucks, my iPad2 could not connect to the network. The Settings screen showed the Starbucks wireless connection, but I never got the Web page where I would agree to Starbucks’ terms and conditions.

I went over to another person who was surfing the net with his Toshiba laptop (the kind with the screen that rotates so that you can see it from any angle) to ask in my best French if there was something special to do to log in here. I was surprised (it was a day of surprises) to find that he spoke perfect, American-accented English. He assured me logging onto the network was the same as I had experienced in Canada. While he admired the iPad2, he could not find out the problem.

Later, I returned to my hotel room in Lausanne. The Hotel la Paix is wonderful, and they upgraded me to a suite. But while they offered free WiFi, I could only connect to it in parts of the lobby, and in one small part of the hotel suite! It did not work in the sitting area or on the bed; I had to move a chair to near the front door to connect.

Lesson learned? I’m not sure, except that connecting to a wireless transmission is still as much about the physical location as the best digital algorithms.

The reality of currency exchange, or just tourist inflation?

I found the answer to my question in Luzerne a couple of days ago.

In my last post, I wondered how much more an Apple connecting adapter, which would connect my digital camera to my iPad2, would cost in Switzerland. It's $35 in Canada from the Apple Store.

I went into an Apple Authorized Reseller in the Luzerne's Altstadt (Old Town) a couple of days ago to check it out: 39 Swiss Francs---at current exchange rates, $48.45!

The clerk told me that Switzerland was historically very inexpensive when it came to Apple products. I told him the cost in Canada. He responded that the difference must be due to changes in the exchange rate. In his words, "The franc has really gone up."

For that to be true, the franc would have had to appreciate by nearly 40 percent between the time that the store received and priced the adapter and the day I walked in their door. And that may be the case: according to x-rates.com, which can graph the relative performance of almost any pair of currencies, the franc has gone from $CDN 1.02 in March to a high of $1.36 at the beginning of August. Not quite 40 percent, but close to it.

Still, perhaps it's time for the Swiss retailers to do some recalculation?

Another factoid for those traveling with the iPad2. Lesson: buy all your accessories before you go.

Look in the obvious places first

Well, I am a little chagrined. I mentioned earlier that I did not know how to move digital photos from my digital camera to my iPad2. I even Tweeted a request.

Now, it turns out that Apple has an adapter to allow you to connect your digital camera to your iPad through USB. Well, whatever they call that wide port on the bottom that goes out to USB. And it's available right on the Apple Store website.

Still, there is the problem that Safari on the iPad does not see the photos in the Camera Roll. And I wonder where the photos will go from the camera—probably to the Photos app.

Next question: should I shop for the connector here in Switzerland? How much more will the shops in Lucerne or Lausanne (my next stops) charge than Apple does in Canada ($29)?

Stay tuned to the same Bat-channel!

Okay, I've figured out posting pics from the iPad2 onto Blogger

Here I am at the top of the Austrian Alps—that is, almost as high as you can get by car on the Grossglockner Hauptalpenstrasse, or Grossglockner High Alpine Road.

I took this picture using the back-facing camera of my iPad2. Then I opened the Camera Roll in thte Camera app and used the setting to send it to my blogger account using the Mail-to-blogger option. Then I edited the resulting post.

If you do this, remember to select the Save s Draft option in the Blogger Settings tab.

Why do I have to do this? Because the Blogger system within Safari cannot see the stored pictures in the iPad2's "Camera Roll." In fact, Safari cannot see it, for some reason. Neither can Mail for the iPad. Major shortcoming there, Apple.

You can email photos taken with your iPad2, but you have to choose the Mail function within the Camera app (just tap the top of the picture when you view it).

I hope Apple fixes this in the next iteration of iOS.

Apps for iPad2 that suck

There's an app for that. But the problem is, apps don't translate seamlessly between computer platforms.

Facebook, Tweetdeck, FlightDeck, even Google Places are just four apps now available for the iPad that do nothing to take advantage of the iPad format. All the developer did was make sure the iPhone App can play on an iPad. Probably, they did not do anything other than add the word "iPad2" to their product description.

As a result, the app on the 10-inch iPad screen looks terrible. All that makes it bigger is scaling up, so you see low-resolution images, icon and text. It's annoying, depressing, discouraging and disgusting. Come on, Facebook, are you trying to save money or something? Maybe you really are running scared!

And there is just no excuse for Google to have such a poor looking iPad app for Google Place.

It seemed for a litle while that the move to mobile was leading to a seamless world of information, where it did not matter which device you used—everything would work together.

Alas, it seems like we're back to the bad old days of "I'm a Mac, and you're an android." Or even earlier, when software developers created applications for one desktop (Windows) and then ported it to Mac and, just maybe, Linux as an afterthought.

Can we not move past this, so that people can buy the IT products they peter, and let maters like OS or Internet protocol go to the techies. Yes, that will mean more investment in R&D than before, but it will really improve the situation for all Internet users.

On hotels and Wi-Fi

Free Wi-Fi access is becoming a staple of most hotels, it seems, especially modern chains. I have noticed this in North America, as WiFi is the standard Internet access and ports to plug in an Ethernet cable are becoming extinct.

This is a big improvement over just a few years ago, when you had to pay by the minute for Internet access. I think in some countries, like Greece, you still have to pay. "Internet access in Greece is very expensive" was a chorus I heard just four years ago, when I was there. Somehow, given the news out of Greece lately, I don't think that situation has changed much.

So, it is gratifying to find free WiFi access in hotels while I am here in Austria. Now, having just the WiFi version of the iPad2, I can't connect constantly like I could with a cellphone. But it is nice to have at least intermittent access. And I found a lot of WiFi spots throughout Vienna for instant, open access.

The big question, though, is why do some hotels still put password protection on their free access? Are they so cheap as to hoard bandwidth, giving it only if you're paying the room rate? For instance, the hotel I was at two nights ago, the Trumer Stube in Salzburg, has two separate WiFi networks for different parts of the tiny hotel, each with a different and difficult password. (Don't stay at the Trumer Stube--I do not recommend it. And don't try to drive in Salzburg, especially during the music festival. Park somewhere else, like in St. Wolfgang.) Yet, the Hotel Schloss Prielau, where I am sitting in the breakfast room now (beautiful, if a little weird) has free and open, unprotected access. Yes, you could walk in, sit down in the lounge and connect! I did last night! But please, don't take advantage of this knowledge. Everyone in Austria is so polite, proper and nice. Yes, nice.

Come on, hoteliers of the world-passwords are so inconvenient and so unnecessary! Open up the networks!

And cities: Let's get going on open Internet WiFi access throughout downtown areas!

Salzburg Music Festival

We arrived in Salzburg yesterday afternoon, into the middle of the Salburg Music Festival. What a zoo! This is the most crowded city I have ever seen. Traffic was worse than Montreal, Rome, and Venice combined!

It's an odd crowd for a classical music and opera festival, mostly young parrents with toddlers, babies and youung children. The narrow streets of the Altstadt and the narrow platzes are jammed with strollers. Babies scream and complain in the Mozart museums and cathedrals.

We attended a chamber concert in the spectacular, if kitschy Mirabell Palace (Schloss Mirabell). It's a very grand, high baroque palace built by a Prince-Archbishop in the 1700s, and there are pink marble cherubs all over the place.

In fact, cherubs are a favourite motif throughout this part of Austria. Maybe that's why there are so many young families with babies here.


The Electronic Report
I'm getting closer to being able to add pictures from my iPad2 to this blog; I have found, I think, some apps from Google. The trouble is, when I go to the page, the location service Google or Apple or someone so thoughtfully provides, gives me the page in German. I don't see an "English" button on the page. I'll keep hunting, though.

The other option is a USB cable from my digital camera to the iPad2. Have one of those, anyone?

Using the iPad2 on location

A real life-saver for depending on the iPad2 as the prime mobile device is this accessory keyboard I bought at the same time. It's from Kensington, and comes integrated into a leather cover for the iPad2. This way, it not only protect the tablet, it really provides a solution to typing.

The iPad2's on-screen keyboard leaves a lot to be desired. The main shortcoming is that the numbers and the symbols are on completely separate keyboards. The keyboard opens up online, and it's suited mostly to two-finger typing. To get to the numbers, you have to press the "123" key; the whole keyboard changes to numbers and symbols.

However, many of the symbols we use commonly, such as the # for Twitter, are on a third keyboard st. That really slows you down.

As far as using the iPad2, I'm getting used to the camera. It's unwieldy, to be sure, but the pix are quite good. And you can access them for posting within apps - for example, the TripAdvisor app. However, nothing in this Blogger site seems to have the ability to find my pix on the iPad2. I have not found a "Blogger" app, but if anyone out there knows of one, can you send me a link?

That's all for now. Talk at'cha again soon.

Travel writing with the iPad2

This is my first blog post written solely on the iPad2. For the next two weeks, I will be traveling and using this as my sole tool for writing and communicating. Any pictures you see on the blog or elsewhere,posted by me, will also be taken using the iPad2.

I am writing this post while waiting for my bill at the Cafe museum in Vienna. I think I should start a different blog for travel, because Vienna is a terrific place to visit. There are free wifi locations all over the place, like at this cafe and the Schloss Schonbrunn. Why can't Ottawa do that?

I have used the iPad2 to take some pictures, and they look great--it's so nice to use a 10-inch (or whatever it is) screen as a viewfinder. So far, I think the pictures taken outside at least in natural light are quite good.

Unfortunately, this Blogger software does not seem able to find the folder on my iPad2 with the pictures, so I'll have to upload them later when I have more time.

So, there is one disadvantage, at least till I find out the workaround.

The other disadvantage is the built-in keyboard. You have to switch keyboards for numbers and the @ sign, so that slows you down. Also, the on-screen keyboard is made for two- or maybe three-finger typing, not what I like to do. And you also have to switch keyboards (by hitting a special key) twice to get to numbers, then to symbols for the # hashtag for twitter.

More on using the iPad2 as a camera tomorrow!

How to read the warnings of tragedies like Norway's

A 1,500-page manifesto? Definitely a sign of madness.

Let’s face it, anyone who can write 1,500 pages on any subject has a compulsion of some sort. While freedom of expression is necessary to the overall freedom and democracy that we in the West enjoy, and that everyone deserves, I would like to suggest that anyone who writes more than a thousand pages about any single subject should receive a publicly funded psychological assessment.

Maybe there would be nothing to the work more dangerous than another Harry Potter sequel. But maybe that kind of screening would have found someone like Anders Behring Breivik before he started his killing spree.

I’m not advocating thought police or censorship, not by any measure. However, his “manifesto” was, according to the reports I’ve read, posted on the Internet. All that would be necessary in my suggested scenario would be something that flags the volume of content, not the actual content, itself. I have not read it, so I will not make a comment on the content.

But 1,500 pages is, as I said, obviously indicative of obsession. Flagging something that long and, in a caring, non-judgemental way, assessing the author, might solve problems before they become tragedies.

Next book review: Night Runner

I thought I'd post this review of a book by an author who lives in my city. He's Max Turner, a high school teacher turned writer. I found his first book when I asked my local bookstore for local writers.

I have posted this review on Goodreads and Shelfari—I'm trying hard to get on top of this social media stuff, but there's so much!

Overall, I liked the book. It's a good, easy read, just right for younger readers. But I'll let the computer do my repeating myself for me:

Night Runner by Max  Turner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This story added something new to the vampire genre: a vampire who does not know he is one. Zack Thompson is a teenage boy who has been living in a mental ward for years and wakes only at night, and eats only special strawberry smoothies. He's happy and has a friend who works around his schedule to visit him.
Everything changes when a strange man crashes a motorcycle into the mental hospital's lobby, and soon after that, Zack's long-lost uncle arrives.
There are lots of plot twists, but no plot holes. The pacing is fast, the style clean and the characters believable——except perhaps for Uncle Max. He's a bit of a stock character.
I recommend this story for middle-school and high school readers.



View all my reviews

You should read this book review

When it comes to social networking, I far prefer LinkedIn to Facebook. I find LinkedIn's interface far more intuitive—actually, whenever I try to use Facebook or add something to my own page, I feel like I'm lost and blindfolded, trying to find my way around by feel.

Amanda Rooker's review of a novel by Richard Sanders shows the intersection and mutual reinforcement of LinkedIn and the e-book phenomenon. She describes how she found out about the book not through Amazon or any book promotion vehicle, but through other links that she found interesting on LinkedIn.

On its own merits, Amanda's review is one of the best book reviews I have ever read. Without revealing much of the plot, I really got an understanding of her reaction to the story. I am also intrigued enough to actually buy the book.

And that says a lot about how the e-book publishing phenomenon is working. Read it over. And Amanda, if you're reading this, please add to your blog with more reviews!

Getting closer to publishing

I've been receiving some excellent feedback from professional writers, editors and publishers who have looked at my manuscript, The Bones of the Earth. It's very encouraging.

I thought that my book was good, but it's heartening to hear that comment from others.

I have to admit, I did get discouraged earlier this year when I sent sample chapters to agents and publishers. I got turned down flat—not an uncommon experience for new authors. (Although I have been published many times over the last two decades, as a journalist, though, not an author of fiction.)

 But it seemed that publishers and agents turned down the manuscript without even looking at it. Maybe I undersold it, or mis-sold it, or just failed in the description. And the book is not like others on the shelves today. Maybe the concept is just too difficult for most publishers today.

I actually had one publisher balk at the names of the characters—he just did not like the sound of them! The names are all historical, by the way. People had those names, and today, there are still people with names like "Hrech" and "Vorona."

All that to say, I'm getting closer to just biting the bullet and publishing this book as an independent writer. Watch this space for updates.

Does this drive you crazy?

Adam Mansbach’s newest book has reached number four on Amazon’s bestseller list even before it’s published, according to a report in last weekend's newspaper.

How did he achieve this? With a lot of f-bombs. It’s a book for adults, but written satirically as a children’s book, called Go the Fuck to Sleep. The verse is accompanied by illustrations by Ricardo Cortés. It evokes earlier children’s “go to sleep” books like Goodnight Moon.

Mansbach is an author of several books, the latest entitled The End of the Jews. He has been acclaimed through his writing career, winning a number of awards, at least according to his own website.

What bothers me about this is that this is an established writer. He began as an editor of Elementary, a journal about hip-hop, and has parlayed that exposure into a book career. One of his novels, Angry Black White Boy, was performed as a play for three months in San Francisco. Mansbach was also 2009-2010 New Voices Professor of Fiction at Rutgers University.

In other words, he is established and successful. So what does he do? He uses “fuck” juxtaposed with children to sell a lot of books.

It’s cheap, cheaper than Cee Lo Green’s “Fuck You” song, which gets airplay as “Forget You” only because we all know  that’s just the radio, prime-time version, and what he really means.

Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I always think that cussing is a cheap shot, an easy way out. While there are definitely places for swearing, particularly in dialogue, a good writer shouldn’t have to resort to this to get his or her point across.

Mansbach has been published by Doubleday and Bloomsbury, as well as a lot of very small presses.

What drives me crazy about this is that, cheap and easy and low as it is, it works. Maybe I should add some cussing to my books. Or just write a book of nothing but cussing.

My first e-book review: Anabar's Run by Will Grainger

Anabar’s Run by Will Grainger

This is my first review of an e-book. I was guided to it by the author, whom I met on LinkedIn. That points to the need for independent writers to promote their work.

I liked Anabar’s Run: it has a simple, very clear style well suited to younger readers, particularly boys. It evokes the style of grade-school readers: simple words, mostly short sentences and a straightforwardness that paints vivid pictures.

This rite-of-passage story is a metaphor for the journey every boy has to make into manhood. That in itself is refreshing—the majority of new commercial fiction seems to be aimed solely at preteen girls. Is the publishing industry now so sexist that it believes young men do not read?

What I liked:
Anabar’s Run opens like a fairy tale, with a description of Anabar’s home: a beautiful, fertile valley, isolated and therefore protected from the rest of the world. It’s simultaneously familiar and foreign—character names like Tom and Ralph make it seem homey, while the fantasy element is brought in with names like Pompor and the names of the two countries on whose border the valley is set: Semdela and Ricamerath. The time is pre-industrial: weapons are swords and knives, travel is done on horse.

Anabar is sixteen, on the brink of manhood, an orphan raised by his two neighbours, the pompous Pompor and the simple Tom. These two are deftly drawn. With little description, the author has created believable characters.

Anabar begins to explore beyond the boundaries of his world, but on his first foray outside the valley, he meets two dangerous men and barely escapes—again, something that every man can identify with. He returns home with a few injuries, but the outside world in the form of a mysterious scout named Omalof has noticed him. Omalof follows Anabar home and presents him an opportunity: become a Scout like him. However, it will require tough training and several tests.

The plot proceeds quickly with increasingly difficult challenges. Anabar meets more people and enters a town for the first him in his life. His reactions and inner dialogue are very clear and believable, and he shows himself to be an admirable person.

Drawbacks:
It’s really only half a story. The author explains that he wrote a long novel and decided to break it at a logical point into two shortish novels. This makes each book seem less daunting, but it feels like there should be more. Yes, it’s smart for a writer to make the reader want the sequel, but it feels a little like I’ve been short-changed.

The only other problem is that it needs a good, independent copy-edit and proofread. There are a number of typos, missing words and punctuation—nothing that interferes with reading the story, but it does show that every writer needs an editor. (On May 25, author Will Grainger posted on his blog that he is correcting the novel as much as he can.)

So, I’m giving this story 4 out of 5, and I’m going to read the sequel, Anabar Rises.

Keeping up with the Web

I’ve been exploring the world of e-book publishing sites, and while there is a lot of interesting information, one question keeps coming to me: where do these people find the time to write?

There are people who participate regularly in online authors’ forums and discussions on networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. They also write blogs, and update their own Facebook, Twitter and Web pages. They also review books and interview the authors.

Apparently, if you want to be a successful writer, self-published or published by a major company, you need to do all this to promote awareness and sales of your work.

At the same time, they manage to write and publish their work. So, where do they find the time for all this?

An interesting word: Fuliginous

Yesterday, a client used a word that I had never seen before—and that does not happen often: “fuliginous.”

She was using the word to describe a successful conference, as in “a raging success.”

To be fair, English was not the author’s first language, although she speaks fluently. And it was a challenging assignment: she was trying to write a wrap-up press release for an even that hasn’t happened, yet. As a Scouting leader, I cannot fault her for trying to be prepared.

In case your dictionary is beyond your fingertips right now, the Canadian Oxford defines “fuliginous” as “sooty, dusky,” derived from the Latin word for soot, “fuligo.”

How did the client get from “raging” to “sooty”? It turns out she was using an online translation tool. She wanted to describe something as “a raging success,” and the software gave her “fuliginous.”

There’s really no automating the editor, is there?

Royal, shmoyal—there are other things going on

It's not a new thing. But for crying out loud, does EVERY media outlet in the world have to let itself be dominated by the Royal Wedding?

Record-breaking storms across North America, elections around the world, the Arab Spring, Apple tracking its users, Apple actually not providing tracking information to third parties, the erosion of Canadian democracy and the way we consumers continue to be ripped off by oil companies. These are just a few of the stories that are more important than two obscenely rich young people getting married.

Sure, they're beautiful. And it's nice when young people in love get married. Hooray.

But enough on the royal wedding. Royalty is an evil that has long outlived its usefulness.

Kudos to Gian Gomeshi for trying to ban royal wedding information from today's Q.

And for the republican who let the Royal Wedding change his political ideology—wake up, man! It's two young people getting married! It happens every single day! It does not change the world, nor make anyone's life better, except for the privileged contractors who supplied the event.

Let me know what you think.

On negativity

The Liberal Party’s message in this Canadian federal election has become very negative. It started last week, with their aborted, misquoted attack against Stephen Harper. Now, they’re attacking the NDP.

There are many things wrong with this approach. First, it shows desperation. The Liberals began with one message, and then with two weeks left in the campaign, changed it. A week later, they changed focus again. They know they’re losing and are trying everything to change their fortunes.

Second, it shows they don’t know what their strategy should be. They began fighting against the former government, the leader in the polls and therefore the biggest target. Now, they’re targeting the party that was in third place going into the campaign. So, what is the Liberals’ goal: to become the government or the official opposition?

Finally, I don’t like negative messages in any competitive situation. Don’t tell me what’s wrong with the other guy. Tell me what’s good about you. The Conservatives have had a completely negative campaign, which really has put me off. The overall impression I get from Harper’s ads and speeches is that all will be right with the universe, or at least Canada, if Stephen Harper is Prime Minister, and therefore we voters will be in the wrong if we do not ensure his party wins a majority of seats in the House of Commons. I react against the admonishing tone.

Likewise, the Liberals’ attack ads are not convincing me. I can think of many messages they could have said that I do not hear from them.

Yes, the other parties and leaders should point out their opponents’ shortcomings and misspeakings. But the loudest, strongest message should be what they themselves are good at and what their plans are.

I know that negative ads have worked in the past, but I have never liked them. US elections are full of negative ads, and to me, they’re a weakness of their political culture. Now, I see them used increasingly in Canada. It’s a development I do not like.

What do you think?

Independent writers deserve respect

I've been having a lot of conversations in person and online lately about independent writers—also known as "self-publishers." The field is growing quickly. Last year, Amazon sold more e-books than paper books. And Joe Konrath and Barry Eisler, two established writers, reportedly both turned down six-figure advances from conventional publishers in favour of self-publishing.

But I keep reading the ideas that the editors at the major "New York publishers"—the Big Six publishing conglomerates—provide a level of professional editing and quality control that is missing in self-published books.

I admit, there are a lot of poor self-published books out there. But there are a lot of poor books from the major publishers, too. And as for books that really need editing, just look at Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy.

The Big Six have no monopoly on the English language, or on the ability to edit.

Commercial publishing is getting increasingly risk-averse. And it's a business. Writing, however, is a craft and an art, as well as a commercial venture, and most writers do not write just to make money.

We need to start talking about independent writers, those who control the publishing function themselves, in the same we we do about independent filmmakers and independent musicians. "Indie" group Arcade Fire, after all, won a Grammy.

Which means that book reviewers need to stop excluding independent publishers from their in boxes and review those works.

No matter how much the conventional, established publishing industry resists, independent publishing is growing fast and strong. It has already changed the publishing industry and will continue to do so.

Spoken words reveal unspoken ideas

“The other parties 'are saying that even if we receive a mandate from the people they will defeat us on our budget if they can. They will get together and form another alternative, of some other kind of government'” said Stephen Harper, according to the Globe and Mail.

Let's deconstruct this statement. First, the “mandate from the people.” Harper implies here that an election that results in more seats for the Conservatives than for any other party equals a mandate.

This is not so in the Canadian parliamentary system. Calling a plurality vote a “mandate” is invoking the kind of electoral system in the U.S., or other countries (the U.S. Electoral college system is actually more complex than that).
In the Canadian system, we vote for local members of parliament. The government is formed at the confidence of Parliament.

In so many of his statements, Harper implies that he has some kind of right to govern the country, and any method anyone else uses to form a different government is somehow illegitimate.

Canadians will not fall for this argument. We decide who has the right to form a government. And let's remember, we decide. The government works for us, not the other way around.

Leaking words

Sheila Fraser, Canada's Auditor General, found some things worth questioning about the federal government's (the Harper Government, as it likes to call itself) spending on the G-20 and G-8 conferences, and it is reasonable to conclude (I'm not the only one) that Tony Clement and his cronies had a lot of say in what was spent around Muskoka last year—and it did not always meet government criteria for appropriate spending. Millions to refurbish a very high-end resort? And the guy who decides whether, and how much federal government money goes to that project is the resort owner, and a long-time Conservative?

There is a lot to complain about.

The Conservatives find a quote by the AG that praises the government's spending—but they had to did down through 10 years or more of quotes to find one positive statement, and it turns out that it was about a previous government.

Then Stockwell Day tries to say it was an error.

Written words, recorded words, spoken words. We know when they're believable, and when they're not.

What’s getting printed?

I’ve been looking into the growing e-book phenomenon. And obviously, I’m not the first, so I’ve got some catching up to do.

There have been several reports published on paper and all over the Web about how e-books are outselling print books, staring last year. In July 2010, Wired reported that Amazon’s e-books outsold print books. And the margin is accelerating.

And there are many more sources than Amazon for an e-book: Chapters/Indigo in Canada sells books for the Kobo e-reader that it sells; Barnes & Noble sells its new Nook, now available with some colour, and sells e-books formatted for it.

And don’t forget that the Borders bookstore chain has filed for bankruptcy and closed a lot of stores.

Print will never die completely. TV didn’t wipe out radio, right? US print shipments are up 4.4 percent in February 2011 compared to February 2010. Granted, 2010 was a tough year in printing, so this is regaining ground that was lost, but there is still a lot of printing going on. KBA, the second-largest manufacturer of printing presses in the world, reports a “printing boom” in the developing markets of China, Brazil, India and Turkey, and strong growth in the Middle East and Latin America.

So, what’s getting printed? I think it’s probably flyers. The volume on my doorstep keeps getting bigger.

And then there are books by celebrities—anyone who’s done anything flamboyantly egregious gets a book out there pretty quickly.

Whatever’s getting printed, it ain’t literature.

Scary: a coalition?

Is "coalition" the scariest word that Harper's Conservatives can think of?

Since before the election started (and how long Harper's Conservatives have been campaigning is a subject for much more than a blog post), Harper and his mouthpieces have been warning us against a "coalition." They tell us it is necessary unstable, and indefinably bad for the country.

Let's think about this. In a coalition, parties that on their own do not have enough seats to form a majority in the House of Commons agree to come together to form that majority. Their relationship requires compromise on all side, so that the overall tone of the government they form has elements of each party's platform and philosophy.

In the Canadian parliamentary system, this seems to be a lot more stable than a minority government that can only survive confidence votes by making sure it has as many sitting members for each vote as possible and making deals with parties on each motion on an ad-hoc basis. At least with a coalition, there is some kind of relationship or understanding for some period in the future.

Doesn't a coalition seem very Canadian? Different groups agreeing to work together, compromise for the greater good and accomplish something that may not be ideologically pure, but is at least workable?

So, no, I'm not scared of a coalition. And I don't think that many Canadians are. The poll published on the front pages last weekend shows that most Canadians actually would favour a Liberal-NDP poll over a Conservative government. (Put the Bloc in, and that changes everything, of course.) And I found an interesting Facebook group called "I'm not scared of a Canadian coalition. See the link above.

No, we're not buying the logic that a coalition is a terrifying prospect. That's not keeping the Conservatives from trying it, though. So the question is: how stupid do they think we really are?

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson and writing

How many of you have ready The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo?

Probably quite a few—I have read its series is the fastest selling book in history.

I read the first book, and I'm now working my way through the sequel, The Girl Who Played with Fire. I can't say I'm enjoying the reading, the way I enjoy reading authors like John Updike or Mark Helprin or Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Larsson's writing is sloppy and wordy. His work reads, even in translation, as if it's a first draft, never edited. It breaks almost every rule of good writing. The dialogue is unbelievable. Larsson wastes pages describing daily routines, like the exact contents of the groceries a character buys. Who cares how many Billy's Pan Pizzas a character eats? The descriptions of the particular model of PowerBook and Ikea furniture seem more like product placement than anything else.

So why did the books sell so well? In The Larsson Scandal: The unauthorized guerilla critique of Stieg Larsson, author Andre Jute says that it's got a lot to do with Larsson's feminist pronouncements. However, most readers of the trilogy don't follow, or care about the arguments between self-described and -promoting feminists and the literary establishment.

I think the reason that people read this series and stick with Larsson's bad writing through thousands of pages is the Girl herself, Lisbeth Salander. I don't know about you, but I've never found a character like her before in anything that I've ever read. We all know people like her, but never in fiction before. She is not likeable, not admirable—she does some very questionable things, despite Larsson's description of her as having her own rules. Still, Lisbeth Salander is a compelling character, and it's she that makes these books interesting.

I don't believe in any of the other characters:
- Blomkvist, the character who is supposed to the hero and is obviously the proxy of the author, is far too cool to be believed. Irresistible to women, athletic, the most admirable journalist in Sweden who makes a mistake that every reader sees coming from the beginning of the first book.
- Erica, his companion with her open marriage. Do you think this situation exists anywhere in reality: Erica has a long-time relationship with Mikael Blomqvist, which ends after a few years because Mikael does not want to get married. However, Erica and Mikael have started a magazine together and continue their professional relationship. Erica marries another man. However, she can't keep her hands off of Mikael. So she confesses her affair to her husband, who accepts it. All she has to do, when she wants to sleep with Mikael, is phone her husband and explain why she won't be home that night. The husband goes along with it "because he loves Erica." He doesn't come after Mikael with a baseball bat, doesn't divorce his wife, doesn't change the locks. And I haven't read anything about him sleeping around, either, in misguided revenge. Any of these things would be believable, but not "Okay, honey, have fun!"

Andre Jute exposes all the plot holes as well, and I recommend you download and read his e-book.
Now, I do not accept Larsson's diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome. Larsson is not qualified to make that diagnosis. It may be true, but then, this is a fictional character, so making psychiatric evaluations is ridiculous. And Larsson is not a good enough writer to provide the richness of detail and characterization to describe a real Asperger's patient.

Larsson deserves his fame and sales simply for creating Lisbeth Salander. Too bad he's such a lousy writer.