Weekend Quickie 176

I'm back up in the top 100k Amazon writers right now because someone read 11 pages of "Rage of Atlantis" on KDNP (or whatever it's called).
Still working on "HTBACISES" 2 (can you see something going on with that title?)
I came 3rd equal (4th, really) in the 2016 Iron Winter Open...to be honest, there weren't many Iron Writers voting, but I only got 4 votes, whereas the winner got 7..Congrats, Alis Van Doorn!
BUT...there was no 2015-2016 Annual Final, and there were the 3 finalists from that 'season', including myself, in this Open competition, and I was the only one to hand in an entry for this final...so I guess I am the 'unofficial' winner of the 2015-2016 Iron Writer season...which is something. Not recognised, of course. Nothing changes there...

And now it's Iron Writer Weekend Quickie Number 176!
Go and see the other stories on the Iron Writer site here...
http://theironwriter.com/the-iron-writer-challenge-weekend-quickie-176
Or just read my take on the elements here...:-)

WQ176 - image above, passion, self control, naysayers - 200 words only

"What the hell did you do? What is this?" asked Tithe.
"I've prepared the field, see?" Kethier gestured towards the tilled soil.
"Have you no self control? You've destroyed the fauna! The place looks so... so... empty..." said Apptha.
"Empty? No! I had a dream, a dream of such passion, such joy! I'm going to invent..."
"No," said Tithe. "No, you're not. You're going to put back all those plants right now." Tithe looked around for the trees that once stood on this scarred land.
"But that's it! More will grow! And we can eat these!"
"No, we won't. Don't be so stupid. Since when do we eat trees? Fruit from trees, yes, but not trees themselves...except those ones that leak, but they're very sticky," said Apptha.
"No, no, you don't understand! We will grow a special grass here and..."
"Grass! Grass? We're not cows, Kethier! Get a grip!" said Tithe.
"No, we collect the seeds from this grass, then crush them, add water, then make a mixture, put a pinch of salt and some type of bacteria in it to make it rise and..."
Apptha smacked Kethier on the head. "Enough of that. Mavis! Where's my roast rat?"

WQ 175 + Evidence of Dictatorship part 2,458

Yep! Shops are open on Sundays again...but wait...what's that? Two MPs voted against! Oh my! The Prime Minister has fined them 100,000 Forints for voting their opinion! He wanted to be popular! (to reverse a hated law he created in the first place...these citizens have short memories, rather like goldfish). How dare they destroy the image by voting for what they thought was right (of, course, they voted wrong but as an MP, you can vote any which way you like). A little talk to would've been okay, but a fine? For voting the way you wanted to? Something rotten in Denmark...if it were Denmark...

And here's Iron Writer Weekend Quickie 175! A space feel...
http://theironwriter.com/the-iron-writer-challenge-weekend-quickie-175
And mine is here, too!

WQ175 - image above, anxiety, braking distance, a crutch

"So, you're just gonna sit there?"
"Yep."
"With your feet up and a beer from the cooler?"
"Yep."
"While our ship, our only way home, is crippled and unable to take off again because you 'got the braking distance wrong'?"
"Yep."
"And I'm standing here using a ladder as a crutch?"
"Yep."
"And you're not at all worried about how the hell we're getting home?"
"Nope. I've got me beer. Could be better, could've brought a TV to see the football."
"Wh...where did that cooler come from?"
"I got one of the ground crew to put it in the capsule before we took off. Why?"
"Was it approved by Mission Control?"
"Was what approved by Mission Control?"
"The cooler! Was the cooler approved by Mission Control?"
"I guess not."
"You do know that the added weight is probably the reason why we're in this mess, don't you?"
"Really? Didn't think about it. It's only beer."
"Only beer!?!"
"Don't stress yourself. it'll only bring on one of your anxiety attacks. Control told me, you know?"
"What?"
"That you weren't really fit for this mission."
"What! Look at you! You're drinking..." Tex fainted.
"See? Mission Control? One to bring back, over."

Am I becoming known? Yeah, right, LOL

Had a look at my 'Amazon Author Rank' and in the last 6 months, I was in the top 100,000 Amazon writers for 17 days, as opposed to TWICE in the 6 months before that...9 in total since June 2013. Strange. I haven't actually written much in the last 6 months. Is that an indication of something? Maybe I should stop writing entirely...I could move up into the Top 50,000! LOL

It's been WELL over a year since I wrote a novel-sized story (50k words). It is time for...

"How to Build a Castle in Seven Easy Steps" 2...

...still working out a few plot holes but I think it's there...the storyline, that is. Here's the title. Is it long enough, do you think?

"How to Sink a Ship in Eight Long Excruciatingly Tedious, Stinkingly Evil Nights"

...yep :-)

Working through it as you read, 6000 words and rising...watch this space...
And where's "Dani's Shorts 6"? DS5 finally got over 100 free downloads without being formatted according to Smashwords.com' standards.

Sunday Shops open? IT'S A TRICK!

Finally, well over a year later, shops are allowed to open on Sundays. Yip yip! Now we all have that one day to get the weekly shopping done and not cram the shopping somewhere into the other days and get all stressed up about it! Go to church? WTF?
(oh, by the way, I have a story in the Iron Writer Winter Open Final over here...go and see...http://theironwriter.com/the-iron-writer-challenge-152-2016-winter-equinox-finals/)

So...the Government did a U-turn! Is there light at the end of the Dictatorship? Nope... there's something else going on here...

Okay, so the Government closed the large shops on Sundays over a year ago. Why?
1. to allow those workers who did work on Sunday to rest and not be 'exploited'...super, but they wanted the money because they got 100% overtime. I don't care what they say, Inflation is HIGH.
2. The only shops allowed to be open on Sundays were under 200m2...there is a certain large chain of shops called CBA that are 200m2 maximum, in every village and town...and they are owned by...the Government!
3. to satify their coalition religious political 'partners'.

The Opposition Party wanted to help the citizens and tried to apply for a Referendum...blocked by an old woman who happened to be a the wife of a pro-Government town mayor. They tried this year and a gang of security guards from Fradi, a football team run by a pro-Government director, blocked them and allowed the same old woman to hand in her dumbass question before them. Then it was rejected and the Opposition Party waited outside the official office days before it opened to hand in their question. Referendum was on! The citizens were happy.

A few days later, maybe one, the Government made a bill to scrap the 'Sunday closing' bill (with some adjustments), and this was passed the next day. Shops are open again! Yeah! ...erm,,, read between the lines...and adjustments...

Why did they make a U-turn? The Government have said, OPENLY in recent interviews that they did it to stop the Opposition party from becoming 'popular'. Yep. Oh yeah, and those 'adjustments'?
You see, workers used to get 100% overtime rate on Sundays. This new bill cut it down to 50%.
Why?
So the Government can say...
"You see! You have to work another day in the week and you don't get paid well for it! The Opposition party did this to you! They are bad, very bad!"
When the citizens hate the Opposition Party for doing this (yeah, right, they're the ones who closed the shops in the first place...no), the Government will pass another bill which will adjust the overtime rate back up to 100%. Then they will say...
"You see! We are good to you! We give you more money! We are your heroes, your champions! Our Reform is working!"
Up yer arse.
Inflation is RISING. The country is going to HELL.

WQ174 + the FINALS!

Got through to the Iron Writer Winter Open 2016 finals...yes, another, and it was close thing, I tied with two other writers in my bracket...Final soon to come...
Here was my 'winning' entry...
http://theironwriter.com/the-iron-writer-challenge-151-2016-winter-equinox-preliminary-round-moby-dick-bcracket/

And Iron Writer Weekend Quickie 174 is up!
Here's the place to go to see all 'entries'...
http://theironwriter.com/the-iron-writer-challenge-weekend-quickie-174
And here's mine :-)

174 – image above, “out with the old, in with the new”, death, services rendered

"Why me?" She flicked the ash off the top of her cigarette and took a sip of the warm short coffee.

"For services rendered? How would I know, I am merely the messenger. And the executioner," said the black suit. A particular bulge protruding from inside kept the other customers away.

"And what would be gained from my death?" she asked. The cigarette burned down in red flame as she sucked the nicotine and smoke down into her lungs.

"Pleasure?"

"For you?"

"Do you get pleasure from your job?" he asked, checking the bar for any interest in their conversation.

"Immense pleasure. Immense."

"As do I. It is not every day I take someone out in, and I quote, "the most excruciatingly way possible". I will enjoy the next few...days."

"Days? My, I didn't know I had it in me." She stubbed out what was to be her last indulgence. A mother passed by the window pushing a baby in a pram. "Out with the old, in with the new. End on a cliché, why don't I," she said with a smile.

"Out of curiosity, madam, and for my records, what's your profession?" He got his chloroformed handkerchief ready.

"Critic."

"Mules, Knaves and Close Shaves" + 5th review of "All For Love" :-)

Well, my friend Mathew W. Weaver has his new book out today! Go and check it out!
http://www.amazon.com/Mules-Knaves-Shaves-Mathew-Weaver/dp/1940938694

And some activity! Finally, a review on the Amazon.co.uk site for "All For Love"...4 stars...well, better than 3...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Love-Dani-J-Caile-ebook/dp/B01APR99OK

4.0 out of 5 starsa sad, sensitive story with added humour and a typical ...

By Frank Clark on 4 April 2016

Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

Another one of Dani's gripping stories. This time a crime mystery; a sad, sensitive story with added humour and a typical "Dani suprise" twist at the end. I highly recommended it for a holiday read.

Thanks, Frank! (a regular reader :-))

I have so many 'starts' to new books at the moment. Today I now have a start to a new Graham

One Star Review of the Afterlife blog tour Day 2 - an Interview with the Editor

Welcome to the One Star Review of the Afterlife blog tour!
http://www.amazon.com/Star-Reviews-Afterlife-Alternate-Hilarities-ebook/dp/B01DOUI7YS
It's  the second day now, if you'd like to see the first day or know where it'll land tomorrow, click...here! 
You can even enter a rafflecopter giveaway competition to win a prize!

Today I'm giving the editor of "One Star Review of the Afterlife", Giovanni Valentino, Editor in Chief of Strange Musings Press, an interview! (I have a story in that compilation...very good story, that)...Yeah! Whoop! Yeah! (cough)... so let's get right on to it! Yeah!...

First question. The name. Why One Star Review? Why the Afterlife?

            The title “One Star Reviews of the Afterlife” came from a crazy comment I made during a dinner party. For some reason, one of my guests felt the need to cross that line of discussing ‘money, politics or religion’ in mixed company. Said guest made the mistake of taking a strong stance against organized religion to defend their choice of being an atheist and it was really bringing the party down. I tried to steer the conversation back to something lighter but they wanted to dig in. After a minute long diatribe about people betting so much on an afterlife they had no proof of, I said, “Too bad they don’t have an app for that. Like Yelp! For the hereafter! That would be the best selling app ever.” Everyone laughed and the discussion turned to just what kinds of afterlives might get a one star review. From there, a theme was born. FYI, about almost all of the ideas from the party were submitted by someone.

Second question. How did Strange Musings Press come into being?

            Strange Musings Press came into being as a dream reinvigorated. I published Alternate Hilarities as a fan zine in the 90s, more about that later, but stopped because the cost of publishing back in the day was too high and the quality you would get was too low. And you couldn’t get small print runs either. I would have to order at least 1000 copies of any one issue to get time on the schedule with the printers and I didn’t need anywhere near that many.

            Fast forward to 2012 and an author friend of mine had just gotten back the rights to two of her novels because her small press publisher had gone under. She asked me to look into the cost and efforts of getting those books back into print via self-publishing and I was surprise to see how easy it was now a days to get your own work to market if you just had some computer savvy. Having mad skills in Microsoft office, I could do a lot of the work myself and I had a few good contacts that could help me with the rest.

            My friend got her books back into print with a different small press but I’d been bitten by the publishing bug again. So I started Strange Musings Press and for much less money and at a higher level of quality, I brought Alternate Hilarities back from the dead.

Third question. This compilation is the fifth ‘Alternate Hilarities’. What is the history of the series and has it changed since its beginnings?

            Like I said, Alternate Hilarities was originally a fanzine I produced during the nineties. (see attached cover art)  At the time, humorous speculative fiction was rare and it was hard to sell without a big author name behind it. I couldn’t make any headway with the big magazines of the time but I started getting things in print after someone introduced me to the small press. Small presses of the day were offset print magazines produced by fans of the genres, hence the term fan-zine. They didn’t pay well, or at all sometimes, but you frequently got contributor’s copies of the issue you were in and mild bragging rights. After receiving a few contributor’s copies, I realized I had the skill sets to do better. I produced 6 issues and it was fun. I ran my stories along with many other great ones. In the end the cost of producing each issue got too high to justify continuing this fun project and for the sake of domestic tranquility, I put it to bed.

            In this new digital age, a lot of the costs have changed. Since I can format the files in Word, the eBook’s cost is just my labor and with print on demand, I don’t have to shell out big bucks to do a full print run for a print edition and fill my basement with boxes of my ego.

            As for the modern incarnation of Alternate Hilarities, you’ll notice the first edition doesn’t have a subtitle or theme. I just took any humorous speculative fiction that came my way, horror, fantasy and science fiction. It worked out fine but I felt the anthology was a little disjointed, so I started with the themes. I was never brave enough to try a themed issue in the old days because I never got enough submissions to even try. I got a little braver after getting over one hundred and twenty submissions for Alternate Hilarities one. My first attempt at a theme, Vampires Suck, was a little rough because it was a little too narrow. I only got seventy submissions for that one. That’s why the next two were more open, Hysterical Realms being just fantasy and Weirder Science is just sci-fi. I took a chance on One Star Reviews of the Afterlife. It’s narrower than my original idea of paranormal stories but the Afterlife has a lot of range to it like Heaven, Hell, Ghosts, and I even threw in a few undead ones.    

    

Fourth question. Will Strange Musings Press move into other areas, such as novels or other types of compilations?

            The original plan was to do a few different anthology series. We had another one called Romantic Ruckus. It was a parody of the romance genre with the tag line of “An anthology of stories about Love gone wrong!” My friend Kara Leigh Miller was the editor of the series but she got busy with other projects and we never produced a second one. I’ve consider doing others but I keep hoping to find someone else to be the editor. Have you got any ideas?

            I’d love to start taking submissions for full length novels but I don’t have the capital to do it right just yet. I can do a lot of the work of getting a book to market myself but I still need to budget for promotion, art work and I’m a terrible line editor. I’d hate to ruin someone else’s book because I wasn’t ready. It is a plan for the future.  If the full length science fiction parody epic I’m working on now doesn’t find a home, I’ll make it the test case for the Strange Musings Press novel line.

Fifth question. What are your ‘pet peeves’ when it comes to editing? 

            I have a list a mile long but I’ll keep it to my top two to avoid sounding whiney.

            My biggest pet peeve is people who submit without reading the guidelines. Stories that are too long or too short are irritations but stories that aren’t even trying to be funny or 5000 words of boring to setup a punchline just drive me nuts. It’s a humor anthology. The first thing your story needs to be is funny or at least trying to be funny. I might not get the joke but I can tell when you’re trying.

            The second would be people that don’t provide a cover letter. It’s not a hard thing to do and it’s very important for your submission. Just introduce yourself with a quick bio, plug your story and give me something about your publication history, even if it is an honest admission like “I have no publications to date”. It seems simple but so many authors find it too daunting to promote themselves. A good cover letter sets the tone of your relationship with the editor and starts your submission off with a better chance.  Here’s a link to a post I wrote about it, 

http://giovannivalentino.blogspot.com/2015/06/how-to-write-cover-letter-and-how-not-to.html

Sixth question. Where do you think the publishing industry will be in five years? (for example, will self-publishing be banned?)

            The publishing industry is changing. The digital age has made putting your work out for the world to see very easy. This has led to a huge rise in self-publishing and an explosion of new small presses. This is both a curse and a blessing. More authors have a chance to get their work out there. Works that might never have seen the light of day because it just didn’t fit in an one genre. Some of these are good and some are bad.

I doubt this new trend will ever be banned. A lot of people are making money on it like Amazon, Createspace and Smashwords. Still, I do foresee online retailers making things a little harder on the self-publisher sometime soon to weed out the chaff. I’m not sure how they’re going to do it but I’m ready to make sure I’m not left behind.

Seventh question. What’s your favorite color?

            My favorite color is red...

Thank you, Giovanni Valentino! And all the best for "One Star Reviews of the Afterlife"!
You can get it here...!
http://www.amazon.com/Star-Reviews-Afterlife-Alternate-Hilarities-ebook/dp/B01DOUI7YS 


Giovanni Valentino - http://giovannivalentino.blogspot.com/
Strange Musings Press - http://www.strangemusingspress.com/p/main.html
Website: http://giovannivalentino.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thegiovanniv
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7772307.Giovanni_Valentino
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Giovanni-Valentino-514035118649690/

 

WQ173 + Manna-X #FREE...yes....

Second blog post today, for WQ173, really, but I might as well mention that 'Manna-X' is free...again...today...it's good, that's what they tell me...

..and now...WQ173...you can see all other contributors as well as my own here...
http://theironwriter.com/the-iron-writer-challenge-weekend-quickie-173/
...and here's mine...

WQ173 - image above, self depreciation, intuition, "Just the ticket"

Another year, another anniversary. She handed him a gift.
"But... but we said no gifts," he stuttered, taking the box from her.
"Well, it is our anniversary," she smiled. He looked at the box and gave her his 'Bambie' eyes.
"I'm such a brute, the worst partner in the world," he whimpered. "I haven't got you anything."
"That's okay. Open it," she said. With another 'I'm-such-a-shit' look over to her, he reluctantly opened the box.
"Wow! 'Shrek, the Musical'! Really? That's just the ticket I wanted! How did you...hang on." He looked closer. "That was two days ago. The performance was two days ago. This IS 'just the ticket'."
"Yes, it is. It was really good, too. See? Fifth row, middle seat, a few kids in front of me, so I had a clear view of the stage. It was sooooo good." She gave a little leap of joy, bouncing her curvature before him.
"Uh-huh," he sighed.
"It gave you a thrill, though, didn't it? isn't that what counts? Besides, my intuition told me you wouldn't get me anything." She smiled and walked away. He took out his phone and called.
"Del Frisco's? I'd like to cancel my reservation..."

NEW BOOK (story) OUT! + Manna-X #FREE + 2016 Winter Open Finals!

 Without a word...No.62 in General Humor! #free "Manna-X" ...come and help it break the Top 50! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D94CWF0
...and...
Yep! My story, "Afterlife is a Bitch", is now available in the anthology "One Star Reviews of the Afterlife" Cool, huh? I even got paid for it...well, I WILL get paid for it...some time...yep! Paid! http://www.amazon.com/Star-Reviews-Afterlife-Alternate-Hilarities-ebook/dp/B01DOUI7YS

And YES, I'm yet again in an Iron Writer Open Preliminary Round (2016 Winter)...please come and read my 500 words "The Blow Up Prank"...you can even vote...:-)
http://theironwriter.com/the-iron-writer-challenge-151-2016-winter-equinox-preliminary-round-moby-dick-bcracket/


AND....today's Saturday! Which means it's an 'Iron Writer Weekend Quickie Day', 200 words of absolute tripe, linking 3 elements and a picture together...later...

Excelsior! Out now! #JasperTScott

Jasper T. Scott's new book is out! New book, new series!
I also get a mention in the acknowledgements :-)
"Also special credit goes to [...] Dani J. Caile, who has eyes like an eagle when it comes
to typos."
Get it here! It's a great sci-fi thriller! Cheap too!
http://www.amazon.com/Excelsior-Jasper-T-Scott-ebook/dp/B01BDVAX6K

WQ172 + MARTIAL LAW + SECRETS

A busy week or two... thanks to those idiot suicide bombers in Brussels, we now have armed policemen everywhere. Any excuse to show some force and scare the citizens of this little country..."You see! We are under attack! Run to your homes! Support the Megalomaniac who runs your country!"
AND they passed that law which allows the PM and the President to spend the citizens money any which way they please IN SECRET.
The place is falling apart. Walk out in the street and you'd think nothing has changed, except for a few machine guns. Everything has changed.
Anyway...yes, the Iron Writer Weekend Quickie 172 in up!
I'm also in the 2016 Iron Writer Winter Open...later...
Here's WQ 172 up on the website....

And here is my 'take'...

WQ172 - image above, infatuation, a mechanical failure, windfall

"Stop your incessant infatuation with Manhatten, alright?" screamed XC23567, poking her finger into the map.
"But I love the greenness, look at it, it's so, so GREEN!" said FB45235. "I want it, I want it so much!"
"In your dreams, FB45235. Now, go back to planning the destruction of California and forget the Big Apple!" XC23567 pushed FB45235 away from the board.
"The Big Apple? I'm not hungry," said FB45235, confused and eating his pencil.
"You want Manhatten but you don't know they call New York 'the Big Apple'? You don't deserve Manhatten! Get back to work!" She pushed him again, only for him to turn around and give a knowing grin.
"But I can pay for it, see?" FB45235 pulled out a crate of EE457 circuits from under his desk.
"On my cables! Where did you get those?" XC23567 had never seen so many all in one place.
"A windfall, from my mother's side."
"What? the FB4 or the 235? I...I don't understand. Mother?" XC23567 began to smoke.
"You will understand very soon," said FB45235, grabbing an EE457 circuit and giving it to XC23567, causing her to have a mechanical failure. "At last! Manhatten is mine!" he laughed.

The Referendum Run update - CORRUPTION

The evidence of corruption at the highest levels is building up every day.
Remember the 'Referendum Run' on the 23rd February 2016? The main Opposition Party wanted to hand in a question to the National Election Commitee to create a referendum to get the shops back open on Sundays.
Note: Life is hard without Sunday opening. As a parent, I find little time to go shopping, working through the week, getting the children to their separate extra-curriculum activities, and Saturday can be filled with many other things, like events, family gatherings, college, whatever. Sunday would give a 'breather' to an already hectic life. But no, the Government decided to close them to allow us all to go to church...WTF? I don't give a shit about religion, I think....OK, tangent there...
Anyway, thanks to Camera 5 and Camera 7 on the street of that fateful morning, EVERYONE can see that about 15 thugs, all working together, stopped the Opposition Party members from entering the building to hand in their question before the 'old lady who just happens to be the wife of a pro-Government Town Mayor' (see Camera 7 here)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2Gp0bAz8sc&feature=youtu.be
In fact, the thugs begin collecting at 4.10am...surely the Police driving by could see something was happening...the Opp. Party members arrive at 5:55am, while the 'white-haired old lady' arrives at 6:45am, 15 minutes before the office opens.
Budapest Beacon has a good rundown about the times...
http://budapestbeacon.com/featured-articles/videos-shows-skinheads-prevented-nyako-from-being-first-to-submit-referendum-proposal/33303
They also mention that these videos were NOT ALLOWED to be SEEN in the meeting when the National Election Committee approved the 'old lady''s "keep the shops closed" question.
Why?
Because they blantantly show that these thugs allowed the 'old lady' to push in front of them and blocked the Opp. Party members?
The video shows that these thugs had no intention of doing anything other than acting as a wall...imagine the scene, you've been waiting behind about 15 big guys for 50 minutes, along comes an 'old lady' with another guy, who's pushed behind the group of big guys BUT is still in front of you, THEN when the office opens, the 'old lady' sneaks in and the big guys don't scream and shout about the fact that she pushed in front of them? Then, only after the 'old lady' has given in her paperwork, you can enter the building... to find you cannot hand it in.
Corruption. On a large scale.
1. The group of thugs (security guards at Fradi football stadium) and their boss (pro-Government) should be imprisoned for obstruction.
2. The Opposition Party should be allowed to hold a referendum on whether shops should be open on Sundays.
THAT is democratic. Of course, this little country hasn't got a democratic bone in its body, but there you go...

Maher for President + WQ171

Bill Maher hit the nail on the head.
https://youtu.be/xSSExfcD2cM
We are now living with "The Trophy Syndrome". For example, the year behind us in school had the 'all brand new' GCSE, with its project work and 'end exam meaning only a small proportion of the whole'. It's not surprising that a ton of stupid kids left school with double the qualifications than us.
And everyone praises for nothing. Judo competitions are the best, everyone wins.

Anyway, rant, rant...how about a little 200 word Weekend Quickie?...171!

See it here at the website...http://theironwriter.com/the-iron-writer-challenge-weekend-quickie-171
Or see it here :-)

WQ171 - image above, a brief encounter, Melancholy, expectations

"That looks like a wig," said the spectacled gentlemen in the tweed jacket.
"What does?" Geoffrey was surprised and taken aback by this odd man's remark. He'd spent eight years at the Littleborough University of Fine Arts and Design studying Contemporary Art and Papier Mâché Handicraft only for some snotty 'know-it-all' to come along and debase his latest masterpiece?
"Those clouds. Tell me, sir, are you suffering from melancholy?" The man pressed his spectacles to the top of the bridge of his nose.
"Well, no, not really, but maybe I do feel a bit under the weather," replied Geoffrey: How was he to deal with such a man? Should he agree with the buffoon or stand up to him? "I say, may I inquire your name?" He crossed his arms and took a step back. The man merely huffed and gave the picture on the wall one more glance.
"I did so have great expectations when I entered, but now..."
"Excuse me?" asked Geoffrey. Who was this barbarian who knew nothing of Contemporary Art?
"No matter, it was but a brief encounter. The briefest, I add."
And he was gone, out of the gallery and down the street. The philistine!

History is about remembering why!

Why do we continue to spiral on, doing the same things over and over again?
Education.
Education of our history.
History isn't about dates and places, it's about people and who said what and who did what and the most important thing is WHY?
For example, WHY did Hitler do what he did? (this picture is from the holocaust of WWII)
WHY have millions of people been killed throughout history in the name of 'whatever it was', be it country, religion, a god?
Because we don't learn. History.
Life is a spiral but we must move UP the spiral and the only way is to look back at our history and try to understand the reasons WHY...and THEN NOT REPEAT THEM!
Unfortunately, the USA hasn't learnt their lesson...look at Trump.
And then there's my little host country....I wonder when the holocaust will begin here?

Ooops! Scratched it! Corruption at its best! #RT #SHARE

Demonstration against 'Dodgy' Council Property Sales (January 2015)
Photo: Gábor Szabó- Origo.hu

OK, so, here's the latest piece of OBVIOUS CORRUPTION over here in this little country. It's so 'slap my face but you must joking' kinda transparently corrupt. It's 'bang your head against a brick wall and watch the stupids walk by' kinda dumb.
Here it is in the original language...
http://www.origo.hu/itthon/20160317-megsemmisult-a-belvarosi-ingatlanugyletek-bizonyiteka-a-rendorsegen.html
And here's my attempt at translating the news...I was going to say 'story' but then you'll think it's not real...took a while to read it...here goes...
The Mayor of the Budapest 5th District back in 2006-2014 made some very dodgy property sales in the name of the local council, selling buildings at 30%-50% discount to some 'flyboys' that can only be described as 'gangsters/criminals' and who then sold the properties on in a short period of time at double the price they got them for. The lease periods were also long-term leases and these short-term sales were incorrect.
A member of an Opposition Party drew attention to this, and the former Mayor started a lawsuit against him. In the lawsuit, this Opposition Party member asked for the files which showed all these transactions to be included in his evidence.
Funnily enough, while in the hands of the Police, the CD which contained ALL of the information (800 sales) was 'accidentally' destroyed...corrupted, as they say...LOL.
Apparently there is no copy of this CD, and the time to re-collect all this information again from the 5th district council cannot be calculated, and they keep postponing the lawsuit.
It's a farce. Really. Corrupt, corrupt, corrupt. The former Mayor is corrupt, the Police are corrupt, (the legal system is corrupt too because they tried something as well but I couldn't understand that bit).
The CD's corrupt, too!
This former Mayor is now spokesman for the political party in power and doing well. They're all doing well. That certain short person in charge with no property and no need to pay tax on nothing is living quite well on 155+ hectares of land in a small village next to the village with the useless football stadium and soon-to-be-built tourist small railway which will have a longer line if anyone complains about it...
...can you believe all this? Unfortunately, it's all true.

"One Star Reviews of the Afterlife" - Short story coming out soon!

New Short Story in this nice book here "One Star Reviews of the Afterlife", one of my favourite topics...Blog Tour coming, an interview with the editor, Giovanni Valentino, Editor in Chief at Strange Musings Press...!

http://www.strangemusingspress.com/p/main.html

http://giovannivalentino.blogspot.com/

What is it about? Well, here you go...

As you shuffle off this mortal coil, many things will go through your mind. Will you be remembered well? Did you live the best life you could? Did you leave the iron on? And most importantly, did you remember to delete your browser history recently? But the big question that will finally hit you full on, is there something after all of this? And if so, will it suck? If only Yelp! had a category for the afterlife.
Here is a collection of humorous tales of the afterlife that covers the I.T. woes of Heaven, the dangers involved in using out-of-date occult tools, the perils of not saving appropriately for the hereafter, the shock of finding out that not every good deed will get you through the pearly gates and the cold hard fact that paradise just isn’t for everyone.

So go to the light at your own peril.
It could be life everlasting, or it could be an oncoming train.

100 Free downloads! + Daffodil the dog

"Dani's Shorts 5" has finally hit 100 FREE downloads! I hope someone reads it.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/587914
AND someone read 3 pages of "Rage of Atlantis" on KENP! Oh, the "Big Time"...let me rest after that excitement...
Oh yes, Daffodil...
http://hungarianspectrum.org/2016/03/05/a-footnote-to-the-story-of-daffodil/

...is the name of a certain person's dog. Now, because of the law in this country, this dog has a chip which shows where it is. Its home. Strange. How can that place be its home? This huge place is owned by a company... of the father of this certain person. The estates around this estate are owned by friends and associates of this certain person. Hundreds of millions of Forints have gone into these estates in recent years in building and renovation. This certain person goes to these estates during the week. This certain person has no property... at least that's what this certain person's tax return says. Mmmm, whatever could it mean?
http://hungarianspectrum.org/2016/03/10/the-scandal-of-viktor-orbans-secret-estate/

Weekend Quickie 169

It's nice to write. Working on the next book. 11,000+ words. Looking good.
Oh, and here's WQ169! It's very nice :-)

WQ169 - (200 words, image above, a faux pas, a mail order bride, a back-handed compliment)


"Come here often?" he asked the girl who was dressed as a Chicken McNugget.
"Only on a Tuesday," she replied.
They sat overlooking the beach and watched the waves crashing against the long-forgotten and decrepit skyscrapers of yesteryear. The others were almost asleep, the party calming down after too much to drink and too little to eat.
"So, why the costume?" he asked.
"Why so many goddamn questions!" she retorted.
"Ooo, touchy." The noise of the waves gradually overcame any noises from the campfire behind.
"Sorry," she said. "Someone told me it was fancy dress tonight."
"Like you can have a fancy dress party after the Apocalypse. Nice costume, though."
"Thanks."
He glanced over to her as the shine from the half moon hit her face. "You're so pretty..."
"Thank you," she said, smiling over to him.
"...for your size."
Her smile disappeared and she crossed her arms, creasing her McNugget and making it bulge in all the wrong places.
"So, what were you before... all this?" He motioned his hand across the destruction of the whole human civilisation.
"A mail-order bride," she said with a snark.
"Pages 45 through to 70?" he asked.
It's amazing how fast ground travels.

They are now 'Slapping the Shit'! please #SHARE #RT

Seems I only post politics nowadays...hang on...it's NOT politics, it's LIFE.
Politics is dull, uninteresting, but unfortunately, it's a system we created so we don't have to deal with the everyday running of our lives. Unfortunately, as soon as politics was created, in came its soul brother 'corruption'.  Nothing we can do except GIVE A SHIT  and make sure no dipshit loser who thinks he/she's God can get in and control a country... that would be Trump in the USA. We already have our crazy dictator here.

A few of the Unbelieveable things which happened this week...so far...

The Government has accepted to close their new administrative 'department' in the Education system (KLIK) and create a 'brand new' one... I think they should call it DICK.
This move is of course...
1. a way to show voters that they're doing something about the problem they have with Education (which it isn't);
2. a way to INCREASE CORRUPTION by charging double for all the changes they'll make for it to happen. They did it before when they created KLIK. "Slapping the shit" (an old Hungarian saying...work it out, imagine the scene...)

There are also plans to make ALL GOVERNMENT SPENDING SECRET...
as the Big Man said...     
                                     "when they give us the money, it's not theirs anymore. Why do they need to know what we do with it"      
                                            ...great words. Dick.
 The tax payers will not know what the Government will spend the country's money on. This is BLATANT CORRUPTION, or TRANSPARENT CORRUPTION on the largest scale possible.

Money matters for the Government. Politics don't. There aren't any. It's a dictatorship, no need to be political about anything. When ONE PERSON is calling the shots, there is no place for politics... and no place for citizens.

When's the Revolution? Looks like these people will never move. When the Government have squeezed the last forint out of the country, the citizens and the EU, and sold it all to the Russians, maybe THEN the people will move. But then it'll be too late.

Posters and now TV adverts! Shoving it in our faces!

Yes, they're shoving their dictatorship communist style illiberal democracy in our faces. They've been doing it for years.
First they took small things like the flag/rosetta and made them their own...when they should be FOR ALL Hungarians and NOT just Liberals...oh, sorry, Illiberals.
Then they put up huge billboards saying how FANTASTIC their illiberal democracy is working. You couldn't go down to the local shop without being hit in he face by these huge blue posters...here's one of many...

 

 (We save a lot in this reformed system) - rough translation
They then moved onto 'brainwashing' with these billboards about immigrants...there were a lot of different messages, this is one...

(If you come to Hungary, don't take jobs away from Hungarians!) - perfect translation

ALL these posters were paid for by TAX PAYERS money, around HUF 500m each campaign.

The small Two-tailed Dog Party retaliated with their own versions...

 (If you are the Hungarian Prime Minister, you must keep to the laws and regulations) - rough translation

The Two-tailed Dog Party even had their posters in English...You see, the dictatorship communist style illiberal democracy's billboards were in Hungarian, addressed to ALL immigrants who don't know Hungarian! So they were actually PROMOTING HATE amongst Hungarian citizens. The Two-tailed Dog Party wanted to make sure the immigrants understood.

AND NOW...(I think they did this earlier, too), we're getting TV adverts about how GREAT it all is! Yes, we're getting it our faces every hour! This is, of course, ILLEGAL...and they are AGAIN using TAX PAYERS money to promote and brainwash. This blog won't let me add a video plus I can't find one...but here's the message...

 

..errr, no.

No matter how many demonstrations there are, how many lies are debunked, how many MPs are revealed to be liers and cheats, how much corruption is found, they continue on with "Mi van?" (What's the matter?)
The sister of the President (an honourary title, 2nd ranked person in the country and loyal to the 'illiberal democracy') has now been made Head of KLIK, the adminstrative department of Education, the person who deals with all finance and documentation of schools...the teachers are now in a lot of trouble...SHARE THE NEWS....Dictatorship is ripe and alive, in the form of a communist illiberal democracy.

THE PROBLEM
A country isn't one person's plaything to give to that person's friends, family and acquaintances, it belongs to the citizens and so whoever has been elected to lead the country should LISTEN TO THE CITIZENS and NOT THEMSELVES. One's called a Dictatorship, the other a Government.

Oh, and someone read 3 pages of "Rage of Atlantis" through Amazon's KENP the other days...WOW...maybe they'll read more! Or is this the Secret Police, come to find me?

WQ168

Another Saturday, another Iron Writer Weekend Quickie. As long as I can type, I'll keep doing them...might not be for much longer.

WQ168


200 words. Elements:Your main character must …be in transit for entire story, be running from something, die doing a good deed.

The tram bumped along its track, digging the rusting frame of the window into his shoulder. On this night he felt a hollow emptiness that was the sum of his life. He would take no more. The last tram, the last stop. A short walk to the southernest most bridge on the river. He wouldn’t miss the work, the flat, the faces he met day in day out. Running from a life that wasn’t his own.
Like his life, this tram was empty. At the next stop, a quarreling gypsy couple got on. Earlier, he would’ve got off at the next, now he didn’t care.
The noise they were making grew and the man took out a knife and slashed the girl across her arm. He saw the size of her belly: she was pregnant. The man stabbed her again and shouted more, spitting in her face.
Something got him up, something deep within. With no thought, he ran down the carriage and knocked down the man, both of them falling to the floor. In his last moments, he held the gypsy and watched the girl make her escape at the next stop. He welcomed the darkness, his pain diminishing.