Will Self

On Monday I listened to a very interesting interview with Will Self on Open Book on BBC Radio 4. He has gone back to doing his writing on a typewriter. Why has he ditched his computer? He says that a writer who uses a computer does his thinking on the screen; whereas a writer who uses a typewriter does his thinking on the page which involves a lot of rewrites therefore a computer is no advantage. I would have to disagree because a computer is indispensable when it comes to editing your writing. He also revealed that his spelling had deteriorated due to using a computer – did he never hear of ’spell check’? Self’s new novel is called Butt which is set on a bleak island which is reminiscent of the movie ‘Mad Max’. The story is influenced by Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’. His novel, Butt is being published on the 5th anniversary of the Iraq War. He wants people to think more about the moral status of our actions - eg. the consequences of flipping a cigarette butt! He maintains that the war in Iraq did not impact too severely on people’s lives in Britain - people still went

on about their daily lives. Ofcourse people went on as best they could.

What did Will Self expect people to do? Really I find his angle insipid to say the least.

Anyway he the writer is entitled to his opinions. Aren’t we all – writers or not?

Virtual desktops; Sticker Lite; 7-Zip; FileZilla; BitTorrent

This evening I downloaded 2 free programs for Windows XP: VirtuaWin Virtual Desktop Manager for Windows & Sticker Lite (Desktop Notes equivalent to yellow paper sticky notes).

VirtuaWin is a virtual desktop manager for the Windows operating system (Win9x/ME/NT/Win2K/XP/Win2003/Vista). A virtual desktop manager lets you organize applications over several virtual desktops (also called ‘workspaces’). Virtual desktops are very common in Unix/Linux, and once you get accustomed to using them, they become an essential part of a productive workflow. VirtuaWin is designed to be simple to use and be highly configurable.

Click on the following links to download these fantastic free programs:

VirtuaWin The Virtual Desktop Manager = http://virtuawin.sourceforge.net/

Sticker Lite = http://www.morun.net/www/products/sticker/lite/sticky-notes-freeware.html

And now to some free programs I promised a friend. He was particularly interested in software which would unzip files (compressed files). 7-Zip comes highly recommended.

7-Zip is a file archiver with a high compression ratio.  http://www.7-zip.org/

7-Zip is an free open source file archiver designed originally for Microsoft Windows, and later made available to other computer operating systems. In the form of p7zip, the command-line version of 7-Zip has been ported for use on Unix-like systems such as GNU/Linux, BSD, and Mac OS X as well as AmigaOS. It is also compatible with DOS via either a DOS port, or by using the HX-DOS extender to run the Windows command-line version.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7-Zip

FileZilla Client is a fast and reliable cross-platform FTP, FTPS and SFTP client with lots of useful features and an intuitive interface. FileZilla, the free FTP solution. Both a client and a server are available. FileZilla is open source software distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License. http://filezilla-project.org/

The FileZilla Wiki is a documentation base aimed at helping those that want to download, install, compile and use the FileZilla Client and FileZilla Server software to transfer files across the Internet.

FileZilla Client is a free, open source FTP client for Windows. It supports FTP, SFTP, and FTPS (FTP over SSL/TLS). The client is available under many platforms, binaries for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X are provided.FileZilla Server is an FTP server supported by the same project. It supports FTP and FTP over SSL/TLS.  http://wiki.filezilla-project.org/Main_Page

BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P) communications protocol. BitTorrent is a method of distributing large amounts of data widely without the original distributor incurring the entire costs of hardware, hosting, and bandwidth resources. Instead, when data is distributed using the BitTorrent protocol, each recipient supplies pieces of the data to newer recipients, reducing the cost and burden on any given individual source, providing redundancy against system problems, and reducing dependence on the original distributor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitTorrent_%28protocol%29

http://www.bittorrent.com/

Learn what a Wiki is: A wiki is software that allows registered users or anyone to collaboratively create, edit, link, and organize the content of a website, usually for reference material. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites. These wiki websites are often also referred to as wikis; for example, Wikipedia is one of the best known wikis.^[1] Wikis are used in businesses to provide affordable and effective intranets and for Knowledge Management. Ward Cunningham, developer of the first wiki, WikiWikiWeb, originally described it as “the simplest online database that could possibly work”.^[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki

I sincerely hope that this information is of use to people out there in the online world. Good night!

MacBook Air

Recently at Macworld 2008 Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the new MacBook Air – the new ultra thin notebook which is currently taking the web and the world by storm. Just try YouTube and you’ll find a plethora of video footage exploring every aspect of the new MacBook Air.

Apple.ie in Ireland are selling the new MacBook Air from a base price of Eur1,699 – great value because this new piece of kit from Apple is perhaps only the beginning of more fantastic hardware and software that has yet to appear. I would urge anyone interested in Apple software to go along and see a demonstration of this magnificent piece of technology. Who knows you might even buy it there and then.

Check out the new MacBook Air on Mac Life (Create, Share, Enjoy) the online version of the magazine of the same name.  And for your daily dose of all things Mac click on MacSlash

On the form side of things you have the incredibly useful Mac-Forums (The ultimate Source for Your Mac).

Am I converted I hear you ask. Absolutely! Should have bought a Mac computer years ago.

Bob Dylan Grateful Dead Travelling Wilburys

Ever since a friend introduced me to the music of Bob Dylan I have been conscious of the fact that Dylan has teamed up with numerous musicians to form what was at the time a brilliant example of musical genius. What springs to mind is the time Dylan toured with The Grateful Dead between 1986 and 1987. Naturally it would have been brilliant to be at their concerts but alas I was only a nipper back then and strange as it may seem I wasn’t atuned  to Dylan or The Grateful Dead. I did however listen to Mary Black and  The Clancy Brothers and what a joy they brought to my young mind. In those years I was studying to get a good result in the Leaving Cert Exam. Well I would probably have been better off listening and absorbing such fine music talent like Dylan, The Dead and The Travelling Wilburys. After all I would have got a proper musical education and who knows I might have moved to the USA years ago and played with some of these iconic musicians.

At this point I’d like to thank Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead and The Travelling Wilburys for a wonderful, magical musical experience. I’d certainly recommend anyone listen to the sublime music that these artists produced in their prime. Thankfully their records are easily accessible and ofcourse the web brings them and that golden musical time period right into your life in the present.

Xubuntu 7.04

Tonight I tried Xubuntu 7.04 on my HP pc. I ran the OS as a live distro and it works like a dream. I would urge all readers of this blog to try Xubuntu because it is an excellent and fast OS for both old and new computers. Thanks to Linux Format Magazine for providing the latest version of Xubuntu on their montly DVD. I find LXF to be one of the best linux magazines on the market – explore their fantastic website!

Nano, LXF, Box & Zoho

GNU Nano is a text editor for Unix and Unix-like systems such as Linux. Recently I saw a reference to Nano in Linux Format Magazine where it was claimed that Nano is becoming a very popular text editor. I wonder why this is so. If anyone has any information about Nano and its increasing popularity please let me know. Thank you kindly.

On Wednesday I signed up for Box.net (online storage software) and Zoho writer (online word, spreadsheet, presentation software, email and much more). I’d certainly recommend these free programmes  to you – try them and explore the possibilities!

Jerry Seinfeld’s productivity secret

Here is some appropriate advice from Jerry Seinfeld about self-motivation and particularly to encourage yourself to write every day.

He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day. “After a few days you’ll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain.”

“Don’t break the chain.” He said again for emphasis.

Over the years I’ve used his technique in many different areas. I’ve used it for exercise, to learn programming, to learn network administration, to build successful websites and build successful businesses.

It works because it isn’t the one-shot pushes that get us where we want to go, it is the consistent daily action that builds extraordinary outcomes. You may have heard “inch by inch any thing’s a cinch.” Inch by inch does work if you can move an inch every day.

Daily action builds habits. It gives you practice and will make you an expert in a short time. If you don’t break the chain, you’ll start to spot opportunities you otherwise wouldn’t. Small improvements accumulate into large improvements rapidly because daily action provides “compounding interest.”

Skipping one day makes it easier to skip the next.

I’ve often said I’d rather have someone who will take action – even if small – every day as opposed to someone who swings hard once or twice a week. Seinfeld understands that daily action yields greater benefits than sitting down and trying to knock out 1000 jokes in one day.

Think for a moment about what action would make the most profound impact on your life if you worked it every day. That is the action I recommend you put on your Seinfeld calendar. Start today and earn your big red X. And from here on out…

Don’t break the chain!

Brad Isaac is a lead software programmer and blogger. You can read his motivational strategies every day on his goal setting blog, Achieve-IT!

Be sure to explore Brad Isaac’s website; you’ll find very inspiring motivational tips and tricks therein. Do I believe this motivation theory? Believe it – I’m going to live my life by it’s simple  and basic cardinal rules.

NVU

Learning to create websites using Nvu is a must especially if you are hoping to take the web by storm. Just read what the developers have to say:

“Finally, a top-notch WYSIWYG web page program for the rest of us! Now there’s no need to pay a little fortune for a program to create and edit great-looking web pages, including powerful and easy to use CSS capabilities.

Nvu is a complete Web Authoring System that combines web file management and easy-to-use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) web page editing capabilities found in Microsoft Front Page, Macromedia Dreamweaver and other high end programs.

Nvu is designed to be extremely easy to use, making it ideal for non-technical computer users who want to create an attractive, professional-looking web site without needing to know HTML or web coding.”

I’m going to give Nvu a try and with a little hard work I’ll be heading the page listings! So watch this little white space.

Download Linux ISO Distributions

For anyone who wants to try Linux then I have no hesitation in recommending this terrific down load site: MadTux.org

All the best Linux distros are here! So happy Linux to one and all!

Poetry and the power to influence…

The following poems are from Umberto Fiori’s volume of poetry entitled Translations.

Stop
There’s a middle zone
after the curve of the road-bridge,
a dead point
between a shop window full of lamps
and a field where weeds and brambles
heavy with shoots
creep towards the dust.

It’s there that, one day of our lives,
buses take us.

I don’t why the following poem Stylite reminds me of the English actor Jeremy Irons; maybe it has something to do with imagery of the sea and the jellyfish (Irons lives in a castle near Kinsale in County Cork). He is a fine actor and like Ralph Fiennes, another brilliant English actor and a truly outstanding performer on the stage or theatre. But I would have to say that Jeremy Irons is my favourite English actor because he is simply a brilliant performer.

Stylite

It was like swimming
in the open sea, and being caught
suddenly, in a shoal of jellyfish.

With the fury of a saint,
a hermit,
who from the top of his pillar in the desert,
shouts out his visions,
his prayers,
I thanked them, I wished them good evening,
I begged their pardon.

On the Street

If at the corner and old lady
- or, say, a policeman -
turns,
face sculpted by the light
of a beautiful day,
and speaks to me,
just to me, here,
about how there’s no respect,
or how hot it is,
I feel weak, like a saint
brushed by eternity,

I feel plants grow, I feel the earth turn.
Everything seems clear and strong to me,
everything has yet to happen.
The poem entitled Boss evokes memories of one or two ‘bosses’ I have had the good fortune or otherwise to meet during my working life. Perhaps poetry and it’s magnificent power to influence and impress are akin to drinking fine wine or finding something in life that really impresses you.

Boss

When you hear somebody shouting in the street
- Hey, Boss! – and you turn, and realise
it’s you they want,
you feel greatly honoured
to be there: a passer-by,
an able man, who can lend a hand
and then sit down to eat, maybe
in a restaurant, biting a piece of bread
and remembering that moon-world
where no-one was anything.

Making A Writer Out of You

Making A Writer Out of You
To become both a published and hence ’successful writer’ you need to develop organisational and personal qualities such as self-discipline and perseverance. This advice applies just as much to the part-time writer as it does to the full-time professional.

In a nutshell: Successful writers do not lounge around waiting for inspiration. They sit with pen, pc or laptop and they start writing. They write regularly because they have disciplined themselves to do so, and because they want to. Try to write everyday, even if only for a few minutes. This can be notes for future reference, a synopsis for an article, the plot of a story or simply letters to friends or relatives. This regular writing helps to keep the mind fresh, active and creative. Many writers find keeping a diary very helpful for this and it can have the added advantage of being a rich source of writing ideas when you look back through it.

The following key writing points are taken from The Writers Bureau Creative Writing Course, Manchester, England, 2000, Book 1 (p28-29). I began this writing course that same year (2000) and have been drifting in and out of it ever since. I feel I have to say that the advice given by the Writers Bureau is perfectly rational and sound writerly advice. It does require discipline and commitment to put their advice into practice and for most people this can be the sticking point. However, all aspiring writers have to grit their teeth and get on with the job of writing; the reward is enjoyment (hopefully) and the immense satisfaction of seeing your words in print and obviously a good financial return for your efforts.

Key Points to Remember

• It does not matter when you write but try to work when you are most mentally alert.

• Find a place to write where you are comfortable and you are not likely to be distracted.

• The best way to start writing is to sit down and get on with it. You can always discard your ‘warm-up piece’ afterwards.

• You can become mentally tired and stale if you overdo your writing. This can lead to writer’s block. Always take regular breaks – anything that will give you a mental rest and help you to relax.

• Make sure you have all the necessary basis equipment.

• Editors only accept typed work; so it is better if you can organise access to a pc or laptop computer right from the start.

• Always have a notebook or electronic recording device such as an iPod handy and make notes when you see or hear anything that you could use.

• Keep a cuttings file. Look through newspapers and magazines for items that tie-up with subjects which interest you.

• Be organised – keep accurate business records for both your own information an for tax purposes.

• Read widely – you can never really Know enough. Analyse the work of others and study their style.

• Try to enlarge your vocabulary as much as possible.

• In addition to perseverance, determination and personal commitment you also need to organise your life properly. Patience, resilience and confidence are also valuable personal qualities for any writer.

• Don’t let a rejection depress or anger you. Try to spot the flaws which made your work fail and learn from this. If work is rejected try it with another market but ensure you have altered it, if necessary, to make it suitable. Once you have had a success, follow it up as soon as possible.

• The quickest way to recover from a rejection is to start on another piece of work.

• Make sure you have a steady output, but set yourself realistic targets which you know you can reach comfortably.

• Write about what men and women are discussing in their daily lives – what we call general interest topics. Don’t set you sights to high as a beginner.

• When you are more experienced, specialising in a particular area may prove lucrative.

• Short articles, fillers and readers’ letters can be a good way of breaking into print relatively early in your writing career.

• Keep your eyes open, talk to people and listen if you want to find more ideas for your writing. Always look for an original angle that will help to sell your work.

Endnote: check out the links on The Writers Bureau homepage Resources for writers. E-zee Writer and Freelance Market News are particularly informative and useful for developing your writing craft.

Umberto Fiori

Umberto Fiori is an Italian poet who was born in Sarzana in 1949; today he lives in Milan. He has published four collections of poems. You will find his volumes of poetry in Books Upstairs – an eclectic book shop located on College Green, (south of the River Liffey) in Dublin city. A very good friend of mine has just leant me Terminus by Umberto Fiori. It is a typical slim volume of twenty poems which have been translated from Italian. The book was published in 1998 by Poetry Ireland (Dublin) and The Tyrone Guthrie Centre (Annaghmakerrig, County Monaghan).

The poem Terminus is a lovely poem because it depicts a scene where the bus is waiting at the terminus and there is only the driver and one passenger. This poem evokes simple imagery and makes no grand statements. The same could be said of the poem Rampart – another travelling poem which employs the imagery of nature and the little things like ‘gullys’ and ‘walls’ that one would otherwise ignore.

No doubt Umberto Fiori is a fine Italian poet and if you really want to be surprised by fine writing then make your way to Books Upstairs and enjoy volumes that are unique to this particular bookshop.

Per Petterson

Per Petterson is a Norwegian author who has recently won the prestigious IMPAC Dublin award for literature. At 100,000 Euro this is the largest prize in the world for a single work of literature. Petterson’s novel Out Stealing Horses (2003) is the work he is best known for.

“This melancholy tale follows a 67-year-old man who is forced to remember the traumatic events of his childhood. His life was changed forever in the summer of 1948, when he was only 15. Through his memories the novel brings that distant summer to life and explores how the recovered past disturbs the present.” – Guardian Unlimited (www.guardian.co.uk)

For a thorough and professional review of Petterson’s novel Out Stealing Horses log onto Reading Matters.

Truman Capote (1924 – 1984)

A very good friend enlightened me about the brilliant novel In Cold Blood by the American writer Truman Capote. This novel is well worth reading because it will transport you the reader to the beautiful prairie landscape of Kansas in the American mid-west. I wont spoil the book for you suffice to say that it ranks with classics such as Moby Dick by Herman Melville and Dubliners by James Joyce. Read it as soon as possible! And if you have read it in the past, re-read the book and enjoy the experience again!

You have to read Beyond Belief by Emlyn Williams. This book is his account of the Moor’s Murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.

Another exceptional novel is 10 Rillington Place which is based on the true crimes of one of Britain’s most notorious serial killers, John Reginald Christie.

It’s useful to know that all of these books and authors can be sourced via Penguin Classics. Any good library worth it’s salt should stock the Penguin Classic series of books. I hope that you my faithful readers enjoy reading the many fine classical works of literature that are so easily available in today’s modern world. Enjoy the summer and expand your imagination!

YouTube

About two nights ago I signed up for YouTube. I’m delighted with this video programme; excellent for gardening and learning about any hobby you care to mention. A great YouTube broadcaster is Silly Old Twit – he has interesting video footage. If you fancy some intelligent points of view then head along to Silly Old Twit where you will be assured of a great deal of thought provoking discourse.

Blogging, blogging, blogging

Is blogging really a worthwhile activity? Blogging is worthwhile if you contribute something of yourself to the content otherwise you are wasting your time. Is blogging going to make you rich? Definitely not. If you have dreams about making a million Euro/Dollars – then dream on, because life is not like that.

To find out more about these important questions you will have to come back to my blog tomorrow as I’m tired now and have enough of the world for one day. Goodnight to all in the “happy community that is the world of blogging” and more besides!