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So here we are. A seemingly fantastic image of Trump being in control of the world's politics. No one seems to stand a chance against him because he's promised to rain fire and fury upon whoever challenges America. Well the reality is Kim Jong-un, the ruler of North Korea, isn't impressed or afraid:
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41356836] Bear in mind North Korea is actively supported by China. China is a nuclear-power and has a population three times bigger the United States. Trump would be extremely advised to be very very careful around this area. He's backing himself into a corner that can only lead to humiliation if he's not careful. Now I know that Trump and Kim Jong-un are fairly inexperienced about their status. And, of course, there's that saying: "Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely." This saying comes from the English historian John Dalberg-Acton. So don't think it comes from America. But Action did have a great deal of interest in the United States. Now before any of you get really critical to claim Trump and Kim Jong-un are being Neanderthal. I see where you're coming from but there is been new evidence suggestion that Neanderthals might actually have been quite bright.
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-41351019] This kind of brings me to Doctor Who. Yeah I know you're thinking, "How?" Some of you might have guessed the image of Trump and the globe actually partly comes from a classic Doctor Who story, Time Flight. Here, Kalid - no he's not Muslim - who apparently the Doctor meets in prehistoric times. Kalid the Master in disguise. (Yeah for those of you who've only watched Nu Doctor Who, the master has frequently employed disguises.) But then I'm sure you're thinking where does this go onto? Well, think about it like this: The master has always - well, nearly always - been defeated by the doctor. (And the doctor always enjoys interacting with him even though he's responsible for causing so many deaths but we're getting off the track here.) You see, Trump always wears a disguise. In fact I wonder whether he's forgotten what disguise he's wearing. Let's face it, if you're regularly featuring on TV, you're always going to wear a mask. Now I mean any celebrity not just an actor. The problem for those kind of celebrities is is that they're never able to relax and take off that mask. Perhaps Trump needs to book himself a flight on the new space rockets that are apparently regularly launching. Well it seems that America is making plans but also China and New Zealand and even Norfolk in the UK. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-40940723/we-are-planning-weekly-rocket-launches] Well it seems that Trump might get the chance to get on a rocket up to space and have some alone time. Well it seems that Trump might get the chance to get on a rocket up to space and have some alone time. Maybe he can read a book I could possibly suggest a couple of absorbing books. Not that I've got any motives to suggest any particular books --------------------------> But I suspect that his alone time might not be for too long. Especially if a TARDIS materializes alongside him...
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The things going on 0.93 billion miles away on the Saturn planet are certainly less troubled than having home-made bombs in tube trains and homicidal idiots madly driving vans.
However hurricanes are a bit of an issue on Saturn. Thank God we don't have to deal with them. Mind you, it's incredible to watch the phone films etc people did during the recent hurricane Irma :
I know you're thinking, "What's this stuff about a psychopath in the blog's title?"
Only this morning I was watching the really nice author/illustrator Cressida Cowell (@CressidaCowell) promoting her new book. (She wrote the very successful 'How To Train Your Dragon'.) Here is the UK tour where you can meet her --------------------> (She's also doing a USA tour.) Her brilliant drawings to in her book reminded me that I drew and designed the cover of my latest novel 'The Ruler of Hell: The Devil's Sister': Parsons Green: Injuries after London Tube train blast
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41278545] Yet again we seem to have another awful incident... At this stage there's no clear view about what this is - many fear it could be another bomb attack... I was going to write less dramatic things than this but this incident is more important... I suppose we all have niggles. Here goes - more things to throw into Room 101: Number one - Laziness about punctuation I know what you're thinking, "Oh bloody Hell. He's a snob." etc etc. No, actually I'm an author. I've got to get my punctuation right. I'd be a shit writer if I didn't. I remember a framed poster for sale that had a quote on it in big letters. It said something like, "Your unique. Never forget that." Why would I buy poster that should have said, "You're unique" and never, "Your unique." The apostrophe is to indicate a letter has been missed out. "You're" is short for "you are". Now some people would say, "I don't care. It's not important." Well actually it is if you're writing. Your job would probably depend upon that. Then of course there is the lack of care in the words "there", "their" and "they're". They sound the same but they are completely different. If I said "there - bikes" or "their bikes" or "they're bikes" they would sound the same but would mean totally different things. That's the English language for you. We all can possibly make punctuation mistakes but to habitually do so and not care only damages yourself. People may look down upon you if you systematically don't punctuate correctly. Number Two - The people who get jobs they plainly can't do I suspect many of us have thought that at some point about someone in a senior position. There's recently been discussions about the recession that began around ten years ago. I suspect many of those think how did these bankers get such senior jobs where they messed up the economies around the world? And more disturbingly there are some analysts who feel these bankers likely to make the same mistake again. In other words they didn't learn from their mistakes. Or perhaps it is that they didn't care because they made a lot of money (often from the people whose businesses collapsed). Of course the same critical observations are made by people when they look at MPs - or presidents - or prime ministers etc etc. You choose whoever is going to mess up your country's economy. Number Three - hate crime So hate crime is racism; disabilism; homophobia; transphobia; anti-theism; and alterophobia. (These categories are according to the UK Greater Manchester Police.) Now some of you might be thinking, "Yeah, right. Anti-hate crime's going to happen any time soon." Let's face it - hate crime comes from people being insecure about difference. And before anyone says, "Hate crimes should include violence against women." (I've had that from a Manchester university student - maybe being there doesn't mean you're bright or maybe it's just that she doesn't understand what hate crime actually is.) These hate crime categories include women plus there are specific laws identifying prejudice/violence against women. Well, things are changing. I've done a great deal of support for transgender issues and seen things are slowly changing for the good. (Baby steps actually.) Now there's soon to be another mainstream series about transgenderism. This time on the UK ITV television channel: I have a transwoman in one of my novels but there's a twist that makes it... well, if you've got a psycho for a colleague, well, anything could happen. A couple of days ago I watched 'Room 101' presented by Frank Skinner. It made me think what things would I like to go into room 101? Well here goes: Number one - mispronouncing words Now I can't say I'm completely innocent of this but there are certain words I want to complain about so here goes. I really hate the mispronouncing of the English word (I'm emphasizing English) 'homage'. Think about it pronounced like this - hom-adge - NOT om-arj as though you're trying to speak French. As a kid I was always taught just say hom-adge because that is how English speaking people say the word. Let's look at it like this. How do you pronounce Paris? Do you say Par-is or as a French would say Paree (and you have to pronounce the letter 'r' at the back of your throat). If you don't why on earth would you ever say om-arj when you actually mean hom-adge? Does this come from American ways of saying things? Like the way British people say 'herbs' but Americans say 'erbs'. It's a bit offensive in the way that Americans say Vincent van Gogh. Americans pronounce 'Gogh' as 'go' when his surname is actually pronounced by saying the letters 'gh' at the back of your throat. (It's a little bit more complicated than that but that is far we can go in describing how to say his surname in English.) Don't get me talking about the difference between Americans saying 'aluminum' and British people saying 'aluminium'. (God, even the dictionary corrector software powering my website tries to correct my 'aluminium' to the American way of saying aluminum. (You don't say 'Sodum' - you say 'Sodium'. You don't say Lithum you say 'Lithium'.) Anyway... Number two - the hypocrisy within LGBT groups It's one of those typical things where oppressed groups are very good at in-fighting. (Those opposing know the best route to victory is to divide the opposition.) And LGBT identities have a lot of in-fighting. Let's be a little bit more explicit about the summarized identities within LGBT. The actual reality is LGBt. Well, it's probably more GLBt. but anyway... Gay and Lesbian identities have been oppressed. Well, actually more Gay because all homosexual men could be arrested before the partial decriminalization of homosexuality in 1967. Lesbianism has never been illegal in most countries. Discrimination however is a different matter. Bisexuality was often ignored, assuming that bisexual people were those who were undecided about their sexuality (gay/straight). The reality is that many people would actually consider interactions with either sex under certain circumstances. (Even if it's being trapped on a desert island and your only companion is someone who's not your sexual preference.) Transgenderism is one even more complex. I've heard of Gay men assuming trans-women were actually Gay men in drag and confused when trans-women saying "No, I'm a woman. I'm actually interested in straight men." Or they might even say " I'm actually interested in other women." Even so some Gay men enjoy making bitchy remarks about trans* people. Then of course there's the in-fighting and selfishness of some trans people. Don't get me wrong. There are many good transgender people out there. (Let's face it, I chose to do a PhD about transgenderism so I'm pretty well disposed to trans* identities.) Plus I'm VERY opposed to hate crimes and that includes transphobia (as well as homophobia etc). However, like any group of people there are some extremely selfish transgender people who are actually self-destructive in opposing (or just being disinterested in) any work to help all transgender groups. Even if it doesn't involve any cost or effort (or little cost/effort). Anyway that's enough of me being bitchy (for the moment). My mainstream novels champion Diversity awareness without being pompous. Number three - Why are we supporting vastly overpaid footballers etc. when we've got slavery even in the UK? Look at this:
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/4898392.stm] Now look at this:
[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/lifestyle/modern-slavery-britain/11196766/modern-day-slavery-britain-cases-on-rise.html]
[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/lifestyle/modern-slavery-britain/11151517/sex-slave-trade-britain-streets.html] Are you wanting this injustice to be thrown into Room 101 as well? I was planning to just write about my next novel when I looked at the latest news.
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41023053] She even wondered if she actually should've told him to back off as it would've made "better TV". Well, America certainly has gained a lot of controversial coverage now Trump's President. The recent tragedy of the Charlottesville murder and the voluntary arrest of a white supremacist certainly highlights the racist issues in the USA . Apparently there's not been an increase in racism in the USA. It's just that
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41034498] Connected with all this is Clinton's new book. That's why she was so quiet I'm guessing. She was writing. You can guarantee it'll be a best selling book especially with how controversial Trump is being as President. I mean he's even been told off by two former Republican Presidents. So how does this fit into my writings about the Devil in my novel? Now I'm not intensely religious but I have read a lot. I've warned you the New Testament in the Christian teachings does give warnings about those who pretend to be good. I mention this for Christians in the USA .
Now of course I'm not asking everyone to become religious but I am saying there are warnings in society we should be aware of. Several people have been saying there were warnings about Trump before he was elected. So where do my writings fit in this? In my novel 'The Ruler of Hell: The Devil's Sister' I take Biblical writings and related religious texts and interpret them differently. Yes, at the root of it there is still the fight of good against evil in my novel and I do not contradict the teachings. But I do also high light some religious writings which have been around for thousands of years... These accompany the Old Testament. Up I can't help but be sad when I look at children carrying machine guns and children being murdered by terrorists believing in doctrines that many of those children just wouldn't not understand. So those children who become terrorists are indoctrinated and frightened into subservience. I look back in my childhood and whilst there are times when I was unhappy I realize how lucky I was. Let's very face it, most of us are very lucky. I look at the recent news issues concerning celebrities who have been controversially arrested but not charged - Michael Barrymore - and who have died after many years of entertaining people - Bruce Forsyth. I have several childhood memories of enjoying watching Bruce Forsyth in programs like 'The Generation Game'. I do also remember him starring in a film called 'The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins' He played a chauffeur awarded by a rich man to search for a £.50 piece. This was a segment of the film entitled 'Avarice'. I know that he was perhaps controversial in that some people were great fans of them whereas other people really disliked him. When I was a child I was just entertained by him. And being a few years older I was also entertained by Michael Barrymore. I'm not going to talk about the controversy around his arrest. But I have a wondering about President Trump and how people will see him in the future perhaps how he'll see himself. (in a very informative interview George W Bush described how all being a president and interacting with media is an important situation. He feels that the media are vital in stopping presidents getting to full of themselves (and stopping people almost worshiping those presidents - let's face it Trump did kind of want to be worshiped - think about that nauseating cabinet meeting he had .) Let's face it in today's increasing media world, Trump is not so much of a president as being an entertaining celebrity. Let's face it he was exactly that not that long ago. And possibly we can say people wanted a celebrity instead of politician on their television set. Perhaps we are getting a bit mixed up between Reality, Fiction and Wishes. We certainly know that that is an issue Trump goes through although he doesn't seem to use that phrase "fake news" very often these days. Somewhere desisting into how I look at the world - let's face it I'm an author and what goes on in the world is very important to me. Some authors hate what's going on in the world so much many prefer to be writing about a fictional world. Well perhaps that's most writers. Some authors want to reflect what is going on in the real-world and give a metaphor/warning about what's going on. That's certainly true in my 'Deprivations' novel. I am kind of mixing between the two. Now when I wrote 'The Ruler of Hell: The Devils Sister' I was reflecting many peoples' present day perceptions and reinterpreting significant religious writings. I should express at this point I do not intend to blaspheme. I simply take actual mythological writings and interpret them differently 'The Devil's Sister' is the first of related novels in my mind at present. The one immediately following that is to be called 'The Ruler of Hell: Searching for Satan'. I will be writing that straight after completing the present novel I'm completing called 'Imaginary Friends and Psychos'. On 13th August, the BBC News website reported violence in a USA city called Charlottesville where a car deliberately drove into a rally of anti-racist protesters:
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ upworld-us-canada-40912509] So it seems the US far right are becoming increasingly affected by the unstable events around the world and influenced by Pres. Trump's election. After all several far right supporters explicitly supported Trump during his election campaign in 2016. Of course many people have expressed Trump didn't clearly identify these racist groups when he condemned violence. By contrast his daughter Ivanka Trump did on her twitter account:
Trump's position is increasingly under fire as people question the nature of his presidency. Indeed he and his advisors have also been criticised during an interview with Anthony Scaramucci on the same day. Scaramucci was, of course, formerly Trump's White House communications director. (He was appointed July 21, 2017 and then dismissed on July 31, 2017.) During this interview:
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40917640] It sounding increasingly like Trump's presidency will become untenable in the near future. One can only hope that the increasing instability of US relations with North Korea and China won't become too dangerous whilst he's still president. The consequences are too disturbing. I remember when I made this poster on 15th April 2017 about the connections between my 'Deprivations' novel and Trump's interactions with North Korea. This was in my blog entitled 'Deprivations' reflecting reality again - A military Alliance plus a Social Alliance? I wrote
And I linked this warning with my 'Deprivations' novel. There is a great danger of USA making mistakes again. "He who doesn't remember the mistakes of the past is doomed to repeat them." (Question: How many Americans actually know where North Korea actually is? I bet Trump didn't know until he became President.) I know there are some people who compare Trump's actions with the warnings about the Devil pretending to be good in order to con people to do bad things. Should I mention how President Lincoln's assassin - John Wilkes Booth - is featured in my 'The Devil's Sister' novel and how the Devil is thwarted is attempting to making Booth a king on Earth? At last I'm writing again. I've being reorganizing my work-space. Effectively I've been moving my desk, bookcases with the books and boxes of associated paperwork from upstairs to my new workplace downstairs. I'm glad to actually get back to work to get some rest... I've not even had time to have my 15 minute nervous breakdown - I'll have to reschedule it for sometime in the future. God knows when. Okay let's think about the environment for a bit. Now you know I've had solo exhibitions of my pro-diversity and pro-environmental art pieces. I've been somewhat taken aback by the snobbery within the art world which seems to dismiss any awareness of environmentalism or for that matter diversity issues. (Don't ever let the universities con you into believing their art departments believe in diversity - just think about the very talented people who come from very disadvantaged circumstances and therefore can't afford the university fees. As for my interactions with universities in Manchester, UK - let's just say it was very enlightening.) Anyway... Let's talk about electric cars. Well, OK, the electric car in my 'Deprivations' novel was deliberately sabotaged to explode but petrol and diesel don't usually cause explosions. Deaths on the other hand... Petrol and diesel cars' days are numbered in the UK. By 2040 in fact.
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40723581] I'm a bit wary of the efforts other countries will take to also more away from air pollution. Obviously there is the stance by USA - most vocally by President Trump. Now I know there are some states in the US who are pro climate control - most obviously California. But of course there are plenty of other countries. When you look at worldwide data America isn't actually the worst. In some ways, I can understand the position taken by Trump. (No, I've not become a Trump supporter.) There are several countries who seem to be far worse than USA. But there are several countries that America supports who are serious World polluters. Saudi Arabia is one. It is the World's most polluting country. Effectively, I'd advise anyone going to that country to update their Will - you might just die there from the massive amounts of pollution you'll be breathing in Saudi Arabia. [Effectively the vast numbers on female children killed over in Saudi Arabia would just simply die anyway from pollution, never mind the other ways females are killed in that country. Of course fatal pollution includes the male children as well so perhaps that kind of pollution evens things out. So I suppose that just simply leaves the vast numbers of female children killed in some other way. "Honor Killing" is just the tip of the iceberg. Perhaps a discussion for another time.]
[http://www.wired.co.uk/article/this-map-reveals-the-most-toxic-countries-in-the-world] So unless you're suicidal these are the 20 countries for you to avoid. Remember I told you about the USA interactions with Saudi Arabia? Well that oil from Saudi Arabia is going to run out at some point in the near future. Now I don't know when but that country is actually making some headway towards solar and nuclear power. (It's got a long way to go yet.) As for the major discrimination against LGBT people in Saudi Arabia. I suppose it is dwarfed by the huge amount of sexist discrimination but it doesn't really allow me to overlook issues like this:
[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/transgender-pakistani-saudi-arabia-tortured-death-amna-meeno-11-custody-lgbt-rights-human-a7607446.html] Yeah I know we're hardly innocent in the UK. There's been too many incidents where LGBT+ people have been violently assaulted or murdered. And the same situation is true regarding the treatment of women in the UK. So where do we go from here? You know my mainstream novels are pro-diversity. (You also know my artwork is pro-diversity and pro-environmentalism.) Yeah, I've had some very complimentary reviews about my first published novel - 'Deprivations'. [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Deprivations-Lee-R-Jackson-ebook/dp/B06XYWD3XC/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8] I'm certain my second mainstream novel 'The Ruler of Hell: The Devil's Sister' will receive similar reviews. Again it's pro-diversity. But I don't believe in pontificating. The primary focus of my books is entertainment. Yeah, 'Deprivations' and 'The Devil's Sister' do express issues about our lives. Murders? Well, I'll keep you in suspense about that. Anyway...
I think I've written enough here. Besides I want to get on with writing my next novel. It's already got a title but I'll reveal it to you when I've fully written it. |