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Showing posts with label 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2009. Show all posts
Sunday, 6 December 2009
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Fiction & Nurturing Souls!!!
Fiction nurtures the soul - a must for even hard-hearted politicians
Chris Bowen
March 11, 2009
Page 1 of 2 Single Page View
A prominent federal politician recently boasted he hadn't read a fiction book since he left school.
Now, while my personal tastes will lead me to the non-fiction shelf more often than novels, it was a bit disconcerting to hear a prominent public figure speak so derisively of fiction.
This revelation from a parliamentary colleague got me thinking. Where would we be if we all lost the lessons of some of the great works of fiction? Where would we be if young people listened to this politician and stopped reading anything but textbooks? Is it a good thing that a leading politician would boast about cutting himself off from the world of novels? Why should we encourage young people to keep reading novels when there are so many other forms of modern entertainment?
People read for all sorts of reasons. Some novels are just rollicking good stories and others hold deeper lessons. A novel can be an enjoyable read and also expand the mind.
Fiction gives us an understanding of the motivations of people that is unmatched by any other art form. And that, of course is the beauty of fiction: it exposes every situation imaginable. Fiction provides a window into the human heart and human mind.
We all live one life, but readers can live thousands of lives. Novels can open the mind. Researchers have argued that people who read novels and who have to think about the connection between a character's thoughts and their actions are better at social interaction. Children who read novels are developing their imagination, and therefore their ability to "think outside the square" and solve problems.
Lisa Zunshine of the University of Kentucky has described reading a good detective novel as weightlifting for the mind. A work does not need to be non-fiction to be serious, to help us be better people, to give insights that textbooks and non-fiction works would struggle to give us.
As we experience difficult economic times, it pays to read Keynes, Stiglitz and Krugman of course. But it also pays to read Steinbeck. Set in the Great Depression, his The Grapes of Wrath is a soaring testament to the virtues of common people. As he follows the struggles of the Joad family, cast out of their farm through no fault of their own, every page is a reminder of the burdens of those who are thrown on an economic scrap heap through no fault of their own, and the case for helping them through. It is also a homily of hope about human kindness, about the best and worst of the human condition. It's a timeless book, yet a book of particular resonance as we enter tough times again. Continued...
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Chris Bowen
March 11, 2009
Page 1 of 2 Single Page View
A prominent federal politician recently boasted he hadn't read a fiction book since he left school.
Now, while my personal tastes will lead me to the non-fiction shelf more often than novels, it was a bit disconcerting to hear a prominent public figure speak so derisively of fiction.
This revelation from a parliamentary colleague got me thinking. Where would we be if we all lost the lessons of some of the great works of fiction? Where would we be if young people listened to this politician and stopped reading anything but textbooks? Is it a good thing that a leading politician would boast about cutting himself off from the world of novels? Why should we encourage young people to keep reading novels when there are so many other forms of modern entertainment?
People read for all sorts of reasons. Some novels are just rollicking good stories and others hold deeper lessons. A novel can be an enjoyable read and also expand the mind.
Fiction gives us an understanding of the motivations of people that is unmatched by any other art form. And that, of course is the beauty of fiction: it exposes every situation imaginable. Fiction provides a window into the human heart and human mind.
We all live one life, but readers can live thousands of lives. Novels can open the mind. Researchers have argued that people who read novels and who have to think about the connection between a character's thoughts and their actions are better at social interaction. Children who read novels are developing their imagination, and therefore their ability to "think outside the square" and solve problems.
Lisa Zunshine of the University of Kentucky has described reading a good detective novel as weightlifting for the mind. A work does not need to be non-fiction to be serious, to help us be better people, to give insights that textbooks and non-fiction works would struggle to give us.
As we experience difficult economic times, it pays to read Keynes, Stiglitz and Krugman of course. But it also pays to read Steinbeck. Set in the Great Depression, his The Grapes of Wrath is a soaring testament to the virtues of common people. As he follows the struggles of the Joad family, cast out of their farm through no fault of their own, every page is a reminder of the burdens of those who are thrown on an economic scrap heap through no fault of their own, and the case for helping them through. It is also a homily of hope about human kindness, about the best and worst of the human condition. It's a timeless book, yet a book of particular resonance as we enter tough times again. Continued...
Page
1 2
Single Page View
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Rebecca puts Birmingham on the map.....
Birmingham schoogirl's short story selected for national publication
Mar 10 2009 by Tony Collins, Birmingham Mail
SCHOOLGIRL Rebecca Hardy is used to telling stories.
And now, the 13-year-old from Bartley Green has made it into print after having one of her tales published in a book to be circulated across the country.
Rebecca, who attends Hillcrest School in Stonehouse Lane, Bartley Green, saw her short story beat off more than 2,700 entries from over 500 schools.
And her entry, called Memories of my Past, has been published in an anthology of short stories entitled The Cry of the Wolf.
Rebecca is one of only 22 talented young writers to be published in two collections of the best secondary school entries to the 2009 Evans Schools Short Story competition.
They were published to help mark World Book Day on Thursday 5 March.
The young story writers were asked to create their own short tales using a series of first lines supplied by leading children’s authors as the starting point.
Rebecca used a first line provided by Jenny Valentine – “When I woke up it was still dark and I knew straight away everything was different” – to craft an evocative account of childhood memories.
She said: “It’s about a girl’s life and she sees herself growing up and how she first learnt to walk. It was fun because I had imagined it myself.
“I have always been interested in writing and have been involved in a lot of story competitions, even at primary school. But I was quite shocked when I found out my story had been chosen,” she added.
Rebecca will be presented with her copy of The Cry of the Wolf during an assembly at Hillcrest School on March 10. A further 100 copies of the book will be given to her school by publishers Evans, free of charge.
The Cry of the Wolf is on sale in bookshops for £3.99, with all profits to be donated to World Book Day.
Mar 10 2009 by Tony Collins, Birmingham Mail
SCHOOLGIRL Rebecca Hardy is used to telling stories.
And now, the 13-year-old from Bartley Green has made it into print after having one of her tales published in a book to be circulated across the country.
Rebecca, who attends Hillcrest School in Stonehouse Lane, Bartley Green, saw her short story beat off more than 2,700 entries from over 500 schools.
And her entry, called Memories of my Past, has been published in an anthology of short stories entitled The Cry of the Wolf.
Rebecca is one of only 22 talented young writers to be published in two collections of the best secondary school entries to the 2009 Evans Schools Short Story competition.
They were published to help mark World Book Day on Thursday 5 March.
The young story writers were asked to create their own short tales using a series of first lines supplied by leading children’s authors as the starting point.
Rebecca used a first line provided by Jenny Valentine – “When I woke up it was still dark and I knew straight away everything was different” – to craft an evocative account of childhood memories.
She said: “It’s about a girl’s life and she sees herself growing up and how she first learnt to walk. It was fun because I had imagined it myself.
“I have always been interested in writing and have been involved in a lot of story competitions, even at primary school. But I was quite shocked when I found out my story had been chosen,” she added.
Rebecca will be presented with her copy of The Cry of the Wolf during an assembly at Hillcrest School on March 10. A further 100 copies of the book will be given to her school by publishers Evans, free of charge.
The Cry of the Wolf is on sale in bookshops for £3.99, with all profits to be donated to World Book Day.
Sunday, 1 February 2009
David Cameron captured by Aliens!
UK Conservative Party Leader David Cameron: I Will Share Info About UFOs
By Robert Paul Reyes
"David Cameron vowed today that if he was elected Prime Minister he would bring an end to the era of government secrecy over UFOs and extra-terrestrial activity.
Speaking at one of his 'Cameron Direct' public meetings, the Conservative Party leader pledged that a Tory government would be 'entirely open and frank' in sharing any information about alien life-forms.
At the meeting in Tynemouth, North-East England, he was questioned about a string of recent mysterious incidents.'I have no idea if there is intelligent life out there,' he replied.'I do believe in freedom of information and openness and this question has been asked from time to time, and I think we should be as open and clear as possible.'
"http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5600271.ece
Cameron promises to be "open and frank" in sharing any information about alien life-forms. I wish Cameron were open and frank now, and admit that the UFO issue is an effort to distract the British citizens from the serious economic woes facing them.
It's disappointing that a politician who may elected Prime Minister of England is obsessed with finding intelligent life out there when it's in such short supply down here.
There is no government secrecy over UFOs in the UK or in the United States, and any political candidate who makes such a false claim is unfit to serve in government.
With the intractable economic problems facing the international community, no world leader should waste his time worrying about UFOs.
UFO mania has gripped the UK, almost every day there's a story about a UFO sighting in the tabloids. A true leader wouldn't feed the UFO frenzy, he would dismiss is as so much nonsense.
Robert Paul Reyes is a NewsBlaze writer on Politics, Pop Culture and Pointless Pontificating. Contact him by writing to NewsBlaze.Astrophysicist: On the pains of investigating the paranormal scientifically
More UFO Stories:
By Robert Paul Reyes
"David Cameron vowed today that if he was elected Prime Minister he would bring an end to the era of government secrecy over UFOs and extra-terrestrial activity.
Speaking at one of his 'Cameron Direct' public meetings, the Conservative Party leader pledged that a Tory government would be 'entirely open and frank' in sharing any information about alien life-forms.
At the meeting in Tynemouth, North-East England, he was questioned about a string of recent mysterious incidents.'I have no idea if there is intelligent life out there,' he replied.'I do believe in freedom of information and openness and this question has been asked from time to time, and I think we should be as open and clear as possible.'
"http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5600271.ece
Cameron promises to be "open and frank" in sharing any information about alien life-forms. I wish Cameron were open and frank now, and admit that the UFO issue is an effort to distract the British citizens from the serious economic woes facing them.
It's disappointing that a politician who may elected Prime Minister of England is obsessed with finding intelligent life out there when it's in such short supply down here.
There is no government secrecy over UFOs in the UK or in the United States, and any political candidate who makes such a false claim is unfit to serve in government.
With the intractable economic problems facing the international community, no world leader should waste his time worrying about UFOs.
UFO mania has gripped the UK, almost every day there's a story about a UFO sighting in the tabloids. A true leader wouldn't feed the UFO frenzy, he would dismiss is as so much nonsense.
Robert Paul Reyes is a NewsBlaze writer on Politics, Pop Culture and Pointless Pontificating. Contact him by writing to NewsBlaze.Astrophysicist: On the pains of investigating the paranormal scientifically
More UFO Stories:
Monday, 19 January 2009
Gordon Brown & Nixon!
January 19, 2009
What Gordon Brown and Richard Nixon have in common
Just after the Premiere of Frost/Nixon I reflected on the similarity between Tony Blair and David Frost that must have made it easier for Michael Sheen to play both characters.
Now the author of the play, Peter Morgan (who also wrote The Deal about the so-called Granita Pact), has noted the shared easy charm of these two characters.
Fascinatingly he made this comparison as part of a discussion of the shared characteristics of Richard Nixon and Gordon Brown (another likeness I have remarked upon):
They are people who are hard to like, people who have complicated emotional inner landscapes, and somehow have had trouble accessing them.
"People will hate me for saying this, but there are emotional similarities between Gordon Brown and Richard Nixon. Gordon Brown finds it hard to be liked and yet he's a brilliant man. But people don't warm to him, they don't like him.
Posted by Daniel Finkelstein on January 19, 2009 at 01:40 PM in Gordon Brown Permalink
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Its funny but I was beginning to think there is a physical resemblance now too. Brown's jowls and that fake smile are increasingly Nixonesque.
Posted by: Simon 19 Jan 2009 13:55:30
The similarity, for me, is that Dr James Gordon Brown, like the late Richard M. Nixon, is a bare-faced liar.
Posted by: Keith Darby 19 Jan 2009 14:06:56
What Gordon Brown and Richard Nixon have in common
Just after the Premiere of Frost/Nixon I reflected on the similarity between Tony Blair and David Frost that must have made it easier for Michael Sheen to play both characters.
Now the author of the play, Peter Morgan (who also wrote The Deal about the so-called Granita Pact), has noted the shared easy charm of these two characters.
Fascinatingly he made this comparison as part of a discussion of the shared characteristics of Richard Nixon and Gordon Brown (another likeness I have remarked upon):
They are people who are hard to like, people who have complicated emotional inner landscapes, and somehow have had trouble accessing them.
"People will hate me for saying this, but there are emotional similarities between Gordon Brown and Richard Nixon. Gordon Brown finds it hard to be liked and yet he's a brilliant man. But people don't warm to him, they don't like him.
Posted by Daniel Finkelstein on January 19, 2009 at 01:40 PM in Gordon Brown Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/297284/38563158
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference What Gordon Brown and Richard Nixon have in common:
Comments
Its funny but I was beginning to think there is a physical resemblance now too. Brown's jowls and that fake smile are increasingly Nixonesque.
Posted by: Simon 19 Jan 2009 13:55:30
The similarity, for me, is that Dr James Gordon Brown, like the late Richard M. Nixon, is a bare-faced liar.
Posted by: Keith Darby 19 Jan 2009 14:06:56
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