The International Writer's Magazine: MAY 2012 Our 13th Year

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Lifestyles: 2012 The Amber Room Self Publishing my YA eBook Tom Harris In April 2012, I decided to self publish my debut novel The Amber Room as an eBook. So this is the how and the why and a few things I've picked up along the way. Immortality June comes with the expectation of summer and Jubilees in the UK when everyone celebrates the Queen being on the throne for 60 years.  Of course for her son, this is 30 years too long one suspects, but in an age when everyone’s parents are living forever (it seems) – it is a salient reminder that we might at last begin to talk about the ‘problem’. How to remain sane in a place of insanity Rachel Green Have you ever worked somewhere where everyone else around you is, in complete reality, totally nuts? Welcome to the Funhouse The Art of Politics vs. The Act of Liberty James Campion Whoopie! The president of the United States agrees with the Bill of Rights. This is a novel concept, like when a kid begins to understand the alphabet as not merely being the lyrics to a cute song to memorize or a series of strange symbols that form different sounds but pieces of a larger linguistic puzzle. Make Way, Mick Jagger Observations of a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer James Campion Hello, my name is James Campion and I am a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The Ernie Butler Show Dean Borok When James characterized me in his biography of my uncle, Saul Bellow, as a “minor legend of Montreal’s underground scene”, choosing to trivialize me out of envy, he had enough to be envious about. Flat Tax Revisited Barry Mayhew In order for the flat tax system to be seen as fair and equitable the multitude of tax shelters and “loopholes” in the current tax laws would have to be eliminated. The Missing Ritual Barry Mayhew Since the beginning of recorded history, and likely long before, humans have given special recognition to important events that occur, often quite predictably, throughout the various stages of the life cycle. A Month of Letters Chris Mills I had come across a letter writing challenge A Month of Letters set up by American author Mary Robinette Kowal. challenge in February. Thanks for Driving Around John Vaughn I was taken somewhat aback earlier this month when I overheard some of the fellows in the clubhouse referring to the fact that the earth’s climate was improving due to the traffic congestion on the highways. Observations Martin Green I just looked over last month’s “Observations,” and see that I wasn’t too happy with the automated phone systems that have become all too pervasive in our society. A Rational  Perspective Barry Mayhew  Some time ago, a friend who was experiencing a particularly perplexing period in his life due to financial and marital misfortunes, offered the comment that “life is really a crap shoot.” My Peck of Gold Michael Chacko Daniels There’s a memorial plaque on Market Street that I pay no heed when I wait for San Francisco’s California Street cable car Talk of the Town Yoyo Friedrich John M Edwards In Manhattan, on Broome Street in SoHo, at the presently closed-down Lola’s, specializing in unfrozen ribs resembling the ribcages of hit-list victims New Orleans-style, the overage German waiter with a ponytail came over and introduced himself: “I am Yoyo, and I vill be your waiter tonight.” Forceful Environmental Decongestion Odimegwu Onwumere 8 March, 2012, some people accompanied by soldiers allegedly from the state government Rivers State stormed Oyigbo, destroying what they claim are illegal structures and setting them ablaze. Shouts & Murmurs John M. Edwards Who is this Charlie Sands? An American arts patron meets a down-and-out painter straight out of “The Real Thing” by Henry James. Google Search Tips Antonio Martel In these years working as an IT professional a tool has helped me to meet the deadlines and deliver tasks in time as no any other tool could have done. It was not one of those code generation tools, any magic IDE or a Rapid Development Application platform. It was Google and its Google Search Engine Nothing pink or fluffy Lorenza Bacino The usual scowl begins to creep across Isabella’s forehead as I try to entice her into a new cardigan. Weary of the daily clothes battle I give up and ask her what she’s objecting to this time.... The Uncaring Future Sam Hawksmoor One of the questions I used to dislike the most when a kid was ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ You’re like 12 years old and you have no idea what you might like to do at 20, let alone 40.  All you really want is for school to be over ... The Thousand And One Fights Dean Borok Anywhere the Israeli team is invited, they have to be accompanied by armed guards, like war criminals, not exactly the spirit of sporting excellence envisioned by Baron de Coubertin, OK? Doing battle with Estate Agents Sam North For some time now I have been trying to buy a home.  OK, I have some specifics as I have someone in a wheelchair in tow, but you’d think with all the houses on sale in the whole country that an estate agent would bite your hand off to make a sale. The Changing Business Lexicon Barry Mayhew The word pollution has largely been removed from the corporate lexicon and been replaced by a company’s “carbon footprint.” Dispatch: Dangerous Drinks John M. Edwards The Real Singapore Sling John M. Edwards flies all the way to ex-Empire Changi Airport to try an authentic ancient Chinese secret called “Singapore Sling.” Tittle-Tales of Time Indrani Bhattacharyya ‘No more flirting. It’s the perfect phase to take life more seriously, right dear?’ My four years younger sister asked me with all sincerity. ‘Yet another short lived new year resolution? Huh?’ I pulled back my chair and winked at her casually. Akha Culture Hijack Paul Hunt Introduction Profiting from suffering and spilt blood of others is abhorrent to most people, while war profiteering is illegal. However, the business of “nonprofit” aid to dispossessed peoples has no controls or laws. If I were to be the new Inspector-General of the Nigerian Police Force Adewale T Akande The situation in Nigeria now is so serious that the conventional ways of doing things can no longer solve our problems judging by the fact of the numerous police Inspectors General we have had since independence Thailand's Year of the Dragon Jules Kay With floods and political upheaval now hopefully a thing of the past, Thailand is looking forward to a positive year. In the Thai lunar calendar, 2012 is actually 2555, and as the number five in the Thai language is "HA", the famous Thai smile is at last returning with a vengeance, inspired by a new catchphrase: "Ha, Ha, Ha". Wisdom; in Reach … Hard to Grasp Michael Levy Science has yet to define the meaning of wisdom in scientific terminology. Maybe they require some type of clever or mathematical proof wisdom exists? Observations While Taking a Walk Martin Green I recently took a walk. It was a brisk day and I found myself remembering how nice it was to have a hot chocolate after being out in winter weather back in New York.  Simian Bonds Dean Borok Excuse me for stating the obvious, but marriage is for idiots, OK? Modern romantic love was created as a showbusiness gimmick by French poets and troubadours The Life, Myths & Influence of an American Original In Praise of A Riveting New Biography on Howard Cosell James Campion Howard Cosell became in many ways a touchstone; he was no ex-jock, hardly a handsome television prop, and there was something emancipating about his brashly opinionated and wholly pathological style Tabytha Towe: Last Diary Entry I can document things in Hackwriters from when I was a silly teenager and see how much (or lack thereof) I have grown up over the years.  Things I have experienced and loved, lived and learned.  Europe or Bust - Spain's Last Chance Last James Skinner It’s now or never for a change in course to avoid smashing the continental ship into that big lump of ice waiting to sink us all. Arab satellites promote Arab revolutions Mawan Asmar Every single Arab satellite television will justifiably claim, a few years down the road, they shared a piece of the communication pie in their protests coverage, whether in live broadcasts, documentaries, chat shows or flickering text messages at the bottom of the television screens.

Opinion: 2012 A Farewell to Sarko Dean Borok I, for one, will shed a tear for outgoing French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whom I much admired. He was a bit of a comic personality but he was an effective, intelligent leader who managed to keep France stable in the context of wrecked economic conditions GOP Lockdown James Campion Republican Establishment Cleans House Reince Priebus is on the wagon. The RNC chairman's days of drunken violence and crude behavior are behind him. Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and the faux conservative uprising of 2010 has been duly defeated. Intervention is Inevitable in Spain James Skinner April went by with a bang, literally. Rajoy has stated publicly, ‘there is no money!’ I made after the results of the General Election that took place last year. After the conservative party of Mariano Rajoy, the PP won with an overall majority I said that the future recovery of Spain was not in his hands but in those of the outgoing Socialist Party, PSOE. The Buffet Rule? James Campion It's national campaign time and the Democrats have joined the crazy. Six months of idiocy from the Republicans was apparently enough. Check that; to understand what is going on in congress with what is officially coined the Paying a Fair Share Act is merely the volley returned for the TEA Party induced mayhem that stalled Capitol Hill during last year's Debt Ceiling Debate. Revenge of the Nerds James Campion + Readers Responses April 13th The Alamo for the short-lived TEA Party Era and its social conservative underbelly is nigh. It takes place as this goes to press with its best presidential candidate left ignoring polls, election results, pundit prognostication, entrenched Republican power-plays, high-profile endorsements, a paltry campaign bankbook, history, and his party's better wishes to quit. Health Care On Trial James Campion The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 is unconstitutional. I have written this repeatedly over the past year. It was true then and it is true now. Back to 1934 - The Spectre of Civil War James Skinner 1934 was the year Spain went completely berserk and divided the country into dozens if not hundreds of political factions of all sorts that eventually led Generalissimo Franco to come back from Morocco a beat the hell out of all of them Look Away Dixie Land James Campion The Sunshine State takes front and center this week for its ham-fisted legislative racketeering and obligatory confederate axiom to shoot first and figure out the motivation much, much, much later. Apple's Capitalist Cash Cart Paul Hunt It’s among the largest current U.S. corporate cash payouts - a US$10 billion annual dividend program announced by Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook. Super Dud + Readers Responses Derailed February for GOP Ends with a Super Tuesday Whimper James Campion Money, influence, and party politics are turning to chum whatever reasoning Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich can muster for staying in a race for the Republican nomination for president. The contest has been, for all intents and purposes, over since this space declared it so on January 18.    Search this site or the web powered by FreeFind   Site search Web search Back Page News Dean Borok I might start my own newspaper and put all the big news on the back page, and decreasing in importance until it reaches the headlines. Wait a minute! That’s what’s already happening. Idiots have known for generations that when you buy The New York Post, you start at the back. Dear Mista Christie James Campion The following was sent to the N.J. governor's office 11 days after Chris Christie vetoed the New Jersey legislature's bill to legalize same-sex marriage in a mostly progressive state , which already recognizes civil unions, and whose majority of citizens support the referendum.... Repugnant - Spain on the Brink of Chaos James Skinner Our Man in Vigo finds Spain on the brink of a confrontation between the left and right echoing the misery of the 1930's. The Frontrunner Shuffle or Where the Hell is Reince Priebus? James Campion After an alleged 72 hours of no sleep and a regrettable slip in press judgment, Priebus spent the first week of February tossing out urbane similarities between a sitting U.S. president and a foreigner accused of negligent homicide. The Israel Threat James Campion A Sideways Path to War with Iran Our overextended and bankrupt nation is about to be dragged into a direct confrontation with Iran. Proving God by Consensus: My Problem with the Religious Right Robert Levin A few decades ago I was awakened at seven o’clock one Sunday morning by the persistent droning of my downstairs door buzzer. A Question of Secular Faith The Role of Law in Perpetual Religious Times James Campion a divisive political climate and the opportunity of an election year has curiously turned a legal matter into an issue of "religious liberty", as in why should Catholic-run institutions be forced to provide a service its dogma is patently against? Joe Cool Carries The Two James Campion White House to Play Percentages in 2012 Race For ninety interminably long minutes on 1/24/12, the president of the United States played his hand. All that anyone needs to know about the obligatory laundry list cum base rouser that usually fills a final first-term State of the Union address is that it's going to be the Summer of Populism for the most pragmatic chief executive of my lifetime. The Scurge of Unemployment in Spain James Skinner Greece has officially been declared a basket case, the gurus at the Davros Economic Summit continue to predict what we all already know, the Arab League has given up on Syria whilst Russia waits in the wings to pick up the pieces and Iran threatens to put up the price of oil. South Carolina Mudsling Republican Fringe Fights Back Against Citizen Romney James Campion 15 Days later... antiquated third-world vote-tallying techniques perfected in the mid-nineteenth century by Boss Tweed led officials in Des Moines to report Rick Santorum had actually won. Citizen Romney James Campion For all intents and purposes, the Republican Primary season is over. The unprecedented victories in both Iowa and New Hampshire by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney have taken the starch out of things. Hawkeye Hoodwink Iowa Caucuses Dilate Republican Ranks James Campion Literally out of nowhere, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum began one of the most inexplicable political comebacks in recent history The Power of 12 James Campion This will be the last column I pen this year, in the final days of this twelfth month of 2011, and I choose to write about the number 12. In a few days we embark on 2012, and each year I try and end the previous one with a tag line or a semantic touchstone for where things may go over the following calendar run. It's a way of cleansing by throwing something out there for kicks. The Ron Paul Factor Iowa & the Soul of the Grand Old Party James Campion Soon the nation will learn where the Republican Party stands. In less than three weeks, the Iowa Caucus will begin the painstaking selection of a presidential candidate. This is when polls, punditry and prognostication become fact. So...who represents the party now? Conservative? Moderate? Religious Right? Washington Lifer? Libertarian? Spain's Future within the EU? James Skinner Part 1 As this may be my last report on this fantastic and once lovable European country at a very crucial stage of its contemporary political history I thought it would be important to divide it into two sections; a past and a future. Spain's Future within the EU? James Skinner - Part 2 12.12.11 There is a need for change in the Spanish Constitution returning power to the central government- another large hurdle for the new government to tackle. Share |

Lifestyles One 1999-2001

Lifestyles 2 2002

Lifestyles 3 2003-2007

Lifestyle 4 2008-2010

Lifestyles & Comment 2011

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