The Universe According to Andy

The Shape of Things to Come...Sadly Not

2018-01-10T19:41:00.003+00:00

Below is a short review I did of H.G.Wells' 'The Shape of Things to Come'.
The more attentive amongst you will have deduced from the title of this blog entry that the review is not altogether positive.

It's with a heavy heart that I admit that I gave up on this book.
Although it's touted as a sci-fi work, it isn't really - instead, it's almost like a piece of non-fiction, a historical analysis, not of the past, but of a possible future...all of which would probably be very interesting if it was the current future...but it's not. Instead, it's a future envisioned in the 1930s and immediately undermined by the fact that it doesn't account for World War 2 which shaped so much of the second half of the 20th century and still has such a lasting impact on the 21st. And I'm afraid that although there may be a number of 'oh, he foresaw that, did he?' moments amidst the 400+ pages, that's not sufficient enticement for me to spend any more time on this book when there are so many other books out there still to be read.
Sorry, Mr Wells :(

Review on Goodreads

The Danger of Blind Democracy

2017-06-04T19:44:00.001+01:00

Democracy, for the most part, is a fantastic concept (except when Americans try to impose it on Arab countries, but that's another issue!)
In a complex society of millions of people, it gives every single individual within that society (and I'm not getting into the debate of whether people under 18 should get the vote!) an opportunity to influence who (be it a person or a party) represents them in the running of their country.
What's wrong with that?
Well, nothing...except when the democracy is a blind democracy.
'So what's a 'blind democracy', Andy?' I hear you shout.
Well, my friends, a blind democracy is one where people are asked to choose a person or a party without having had the opportunity to truly understand what that person/party represents and what that person/party's appointment to government is likely to mean.
And that is exactly what we now have here in the UK.
Ever since the election was called, we have been fed, by all parties, an unsatisfactory diet of soundbites, platitudes and promises...and why?
Well, the simple answer is to say 'They're all politicians - none of them tell the truth and none of them will ever answer a question.'
And, of course, you'd be right.
But perhaps the time has come to ask why it is our politicians are the way they are, and why it is we seem to be expected to make significant political choices based on nothing other than headline snippets.

I, myself, blame the media.
Take, for example, the most recent instances where politicians have appeared on our screens:
- the Andrew Neil interviews
- May vs Corbyn (with the risible Jeremy Paxman)
- the so-called Leaders Debates
Did any of these events provide us with anything meaningful by way of expending our understanding of the policies of any of the parties beyond the basic soundbites?
Emphatically no!
Instead, we were subjected either to petulant, belligerent interviewing techniques which now seem to be based on not letting a politician say more than five words before they are rudely interrupted, or we had to listen to so-called ordinary people asking bland questions to which they received bland answers, with television executives sitting in the background waiting hopefully either for an audience member to have a real go at one of the candidates (as Nicola Sturgeon found with the 'nurse who needed to use a food bank) or for one of the candidates to have a bit of a mare (as Jeremy Corbyn did when questioned about drone strikes).
Let's face it, the TV executives aren't interested in informing people - they're interested in the prospect of some car-crash television, great headlines in the morning paper.
And the interviewers themselves - snarling, outraged, aggressive - too many of them are interested not in having a meaningful debate, but in tricking or bullying whoever it is they are interviewing into saying something 'wrong' or making a mistake or contradicting something they said 25 years ago so that they can then pounce on it and milk it and prove how clever they are and how incompetent the interviewee is.
Come on, guys!!!
Everyone has flaws.
Everyone has made some bad decisions.
Everyone has changed their mind about something.
Yes, I accept it is important to get a feeling about the person (especially for the likes of Corbyn and May who may be leading the country), but when Paxman interviewed each of them he just went on and on about Corbyn's past affiliations with the IRA and Hamas and May's past support for remaining in the EU and didn't talk about anything else. Okay, ask the questions on that, help us get a feel about them, but once you've done that, please, for God's sake, move on to something meaningful!!

So what's the solution?
Well, I think it's time we had measured debates, not involving the leaders of each party, but involving the ministers and their shadows.
Each debate should be with a single chairman whose job it is to keep things going, but not to get involved in the debate, but to question the veracity of claims made by all parties.
Each sitting minister should be asked to defend their record on the subject in question (defence, education, the economy, health, etc), using FACTS to back up their claims of what they've done well. They can also present their plans for going forward, with DETAILS (it'll be the job of the chairman to keep discussions at the layman level).
The shadows from the opposition parties can then question and challenge the facts and the policies, giving us something of a DEBATE.
Then, each opposition party presents their policies and these are likewise challenged.
No fireworks, no studio audience to heckle and applaud, no lazy platitudes and soundbites.
Just policies and facts.
Yes, it may be a bit dry.
Yes, some may even find it a bit boring.
But, to be honest, I think it would be rather good to hear Phillip Hammond questioning John McDonnell about how he's going to pay for all the things the Labour Party have promised to pay for, or have Kate Osamar asking Priti Patel to provide detailed justification for spending £13 billion pounds overseas.
A debate on the economy...that would be good.
A debate on immigration and security...hmm...useful.
A debate on our education system...fantastic!!
Alas, I feel that such informative and useful vehicles for spreading information to the masses would be something of an anathema to TV executives who seem to believe more and more that 'ordinary people' are mindless morons with 5-second attention spans whose opinions are shaped by an endless diet of reality TV, gutter humour and soap operas.

It seems to me that the only cure for blind democracy is self-help - it is up to us, the ones who want to cast our vote based on knowledge and understanding, to try to see beyond the fluff, to ignore the soundbites and the platitudes, and seek out the facts so that we can at least put a cross in a box on the basis of something more than a chaotic hour of TV in which seven politicians do nothing more than interrupt and talk over each other!

Book Review - The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter

2017-04-07T10:51:00.000+01:00

***Spoiler Alert***

Why not 5 stars? After all, it's certainly an intriguing and, overall, engaging book and, as with Massacre of Mankind, Stephen Baxter has certainly done his research and largely succeeded in taking the premise of The Time Machine onto a new level.
Well, for me it's the fact that, towards the latter stages of the book, Stephen seemed to become a little too obsessed with concepts of Time, Space, Multiplicity, etc., such that whereas the first 350 pages had been about the Time Traveller's adventures in the different universes created by his meddlesome adventures, the following 100 pages (involving the mysterious Universal Constructors) became less of an adventure and more of a science paper as Stephen attempted to put into layman's terms concepts which are difficult to grasp and comprehend. He manages it, but only just, and I have to admit that there were a few pages late on where I skimmed through a lot of the 'sciencey-stuff' to get to what was going to happen next to the Time Traveller.
The Time Traveller storyline, and most importantly his attempts to rescue Weena from the Morlocks, re-asserted itself (thankfully) towards the end and Stephen finished the book with an intriguing cliffhanger of sorts.
All in all, very much worth reading, but just be prepared for a bit of a science-lesson bog three-quarters of the way through.

Our Government's misguided definition of an 'informed decision'

2016-04-13T18:47:00.000+01:00

Apparently, Europe Minister David Lidington, when asked about the decision to send out the increasingly infamous EU Referendum information booklet (yes, the one that cost £9.3 million to create and which was printed in Germany rather than here in the UK), said this:

"I am spending time virtually every day now signing replies to Members of Parliament who have enclosed letters from constituents where those constituents have said they feel they do not yet have enough information on which to take an informed decision and they would like to have some more please," he said.

Clearly he doesn't seem to understand what it is that has got so many people hot under the collar.
You see, like so many of the constituents that Mr Lidington is referring to, I too would very much welcome enough information on which to make an informed decision about the UK's continued membership of the EU - indeed, I believe that such information has been conspicuous by its absence.
I'd love to see some sensible, rational economic data, for example, clearly showing me how much the UK pays into the EU and how much it gets out; I'd love to see a balanced critique of how long it might take the UK to reach a trade agreement with the EU if the UK decides to leave, and what the implications could be to our economy in the interim; I'd love to know what the Leave Campaign plan to create in place of the awful Human Rights Act (one of my pet hates because it is such a poorly drafted law).
And so on...
So in that respect, I'm fully in agreement with Mr Lidington that I don't yet have enough information on which to make an informed decision. Indeed I, for one, would have no qualms (except about the printing of it in Germany) about the government spending taxpayers' money on a leaflet that provides a sensible, balanced explanation of the potential risks and benefits of EU membership and an EU exit on issues such as the economy, security, trade, migration, etc, etc. In fact, I'd positively welcome it.
But that's exactly what we haven't got!!!!
Instead, Mr Lidington, along with Mr Cameron et al, seem to believe that an 'informed decision' is one based only on one side of an argument, and it's that utter arrogance and complete disregard for 'fairness' that I (and a lot of other people, I suspect) find really, really infuriating.

Steel - not too big to fail...apparently

2016-03-30T09:15:00.000+01:00

We heard it so often during the banking crisis, didn't we, that expression 'Too big to fail'.
And because our banks were 'too big to fail' our government pumped billions and billions of pounds worth of taxpayers money into them to stop this 'vital industry' from collapsing.
So what about steel?
Well, it seems that this industry, in spite of the fact it is regarded as a critical national asset (let's face it, the ability to make something as basic as steel in this volatile and unpredictable world is probably a good thing), is not too big to fail...which is why we don't see our government rushing to the piggy bank once more.
The best they can do, according to Anna Soubry (she's our Business and Enterprise Minister, apparently) is to 'work tirelessly' to find someone to buy Tata Steel's UK plants...I guess they're working as 'tirelessly' as they did to find buyers for the steel plant at Redcar...
Funny that they didn't first look to see if anyone wanted to buy a bank or two during that particular crisis!

But, I hear people cry, Port Talbot is losing a million pounds a day. How can we afford to support that??
Yes, that is an awful lot of money.
But when you hear from the National Audit Office that the government's bail out of the banking sector and money markets has cost £850 billion, then suddenly Port Talbot's losses look like pretty small beer in comparison (and before you ask, that £850 billion represents a million pounds a day for 2,328 years!!!!).
But why is Port Talbot losing so much?
Could it have something to do with the fact that, quite bizarrely, there is not a rule in government that any national infrastructure project (for example, the new Forth crossing) must use British-manufactured steel?
Or could it be that we live in a country where energy prices are so ridiculously inflated by the big six energy firms that any industry is at an immediate disadvantage when competing with almost every other country on the planet?
Or could it be that our own government, so eager to cosy up to the Chinese, doesn't have the balls to slap a bloody great tariff on the cheap, Chinese government-subsidised steel that is flooding the international market? (Sorry, we can't do that because of EU rules!)

So, my friends, it seems that we have a choice.
Do we allow another critical UK manufacturing capability disappear and the blast furnaces fall silent, or do we instead say to the workers at Port Talbot, Rotherham, Shotton and Corby: 'Okay guys, here's what we're going to do. We're going to buy your steelworks and help you out, and we're going to give each and every one of you a stake in the future of your new company so you're really motivated. Now it's up to you to make it work, so no massive pay demands, no bitching about your pension, none of that industrial action shit! And as an added fillip, we'll make sure that every major infrastructure project in this country buys from you. Just make sure the quality and the delivery is up to scratch!'

I, for one, wouldn't mind my government using some of the money it doesn't have to shore up the steel industry for a while and, at the same time, keep thousands off the dole and save whole communities from dying a slow and painful death.
Not that I think the government will actually do anything - after all, how many ordinary steelworkers have made contributions to the Conservative Party...?

Andy's Manifesto

2016-03-26T12:21:00.001+00:00

Well, folks.
Here it is - Andy's Manifesto...and let no-one accuse me of shying away from the big issues or avoiding controversy.
I'm calling it like it is - which is something you'll find as rare as hen's teeth in today's political landscape.

So what's the first thing I'd do if I was in power?
Well, I'd give every man, woman and child a big slap and shout as loudly as I could into their faces:
'Get real, you morons!!'
Why?
Well, it's simple really. If you, the mass populous some 70 million strong, want...nay, demand the following:

a National Health Service that is fit for purpose i.e. enables you to see your GP quickly when you're ill, to have timely operations instead of waiting a couple of years in agony, to have your hospitals clean and safe and properly staffed with qualified doctors and nurses who aren't so tired that they can't think straight, to have access to the latest drugs and treatments even though they cost hundreds of thousands of pounds, etc.
a transport system that is fit for purpose i.e. trains that run frequently and on time and aren't like sardine-cans, motorways that aren't at a standstill forever, roads that aren't so full of potholes that driving becomes something like a video-game, etc.
a country that is safe and secure i.e. with enough police officers on the beat to enforce the law, an army, navy and airforce that is big enough and well-equipped enough to protect our interests, security services that have enough resources to identify and snuff out threats before they manifest themselves, etc.
etc.
etc.

then you can't have all these things without being prepared to pay for them!

And all these things cost money...lots and lots of money...!

So you, the great British public, need to decide (and decide quickly) what's really important to you - low taxation (and money in your pocket so you can go and shop at Primark) or the sort of fully-funded services I've listed above - because you simply can't have both.

Oh, one other thing. You also need to realise, whether you like it or not, that you've been living in a country which, for at least the last 20 years or so, has been living well beyond its means. Successive governments (and Labour and Tories are equally to blame here) has run up a bigger and bigger national overdraft and eventually that particular bird (the £1.5 trillion+ national debt bird) will come home to roost big time and no amount of tinkering around with Insurance Premium Taxes or Income Tax thresholds, or simply praying that the global economy will suddenly flourish and save the day is going to help.

So, here's the deal.

We have to raise taxation. And I mean really raise taxation.

There's nothing else for it.

Of course, we have to do it in a way that is fair and equitable, and no, before anyone asks, I'm not going to impose a 98% super-tax on all earnings over £200,000. Instead, everyone (and I mean everyone) is going to have to pay more. That means those on lower incomes will see their 20% rate go up to say 22% or 23%; then those who earn more will pay a bit more than that - if you earn over £30,000, you'll pay 26% or 27%; if you earn over £60,000, it'll be 47% or 48% and so on...and maybe all those footballers on simply ridiculous wages can give something back...let's look at maybe 75% tax on earnings over £1 million - at least it'll temper their urges to build monstrous-bling buildings in the Cheshire countryside!

But why do we need to raise taxes by so much? I hear the masses (fish and poor alike) cry out.

Because not only do we need to balance the books quickly, we also need to generate enough of a surplus so that we can get our national debt mountain down and eventually pay our overdraft off...that way we won't be spending nigh on £50 billion a year (that's about half the entire NHS budget) in interest payments, like we do at the moment!!!

Of course, everyone will need to tighten their belts - the job of government (and councils) is to make sure every penny of taxpayer's money is spent wisely and cautiously, giving the best returns possible.

And no, we shouldn't expect the most vulnerable in our society to shoulder an inordinate burden (as our current government seems to want to do with disabled people, for example).

But there is one group of people that I would target with vigour and that's the workshy, those who have made a career of living off benefits, and therefore off the efforts and hard-work of others.

You see, in Andy's Britain, there would still be a benefits system, but it would be structured in such a way that made it impossible for anyone on benefits to 'earn' more than 50% of a person who is working. Those on welfare must be given an incentive to find work - if they choose not to, then the life they live must not be one where they can afford new designer clothes, plentiful supplies of cigarettes and alcohol, Playstations, flat-screen TVs and Sky, a holiday abroad once or twice a year. Welfare should be there to provide the minimum support only - no more.

Interested and Intrigued?

Want to know more about my other policies?

the EU - this, for me, is a no brainer. Not only would we have to leave the EU in order for all the things I think need to be done to actually get done (otherwise every man and his dog would be off to the European Court of Human Rights or the European Court of Justice with some sob-story or other), but we should simply not be part of a club that shifts its headquarters between two cities every couple of weeks because it can't decide where those headquarters should be! In the future, I believe historians will look back at the EU as a failed social experiment that collapsed under the weight of its own bureaucracy and corruption - I only hope those same historians will look back at 2016 and say 'Britain was smart to get out when they did'. Remember, God put water between us and Europe for a reason!
Criminality - again, this is a no brainer. Society asks, in reality, very little of the individual - but one thing that should be sacrosanct is compliance with the law. To break the law should not be seen as something to be done lightly; the ramifications of such transgressions must be met with swift and terrible retribution. Of course, where possible, everyone should be given a chance at redemption and rehabilitation...but only one chance. Those 'career criminals' who choose to transgress again cannot be tolerated and it would be my proposal to take an island (not sure which yet), build a massive wall around it and follow the lead of Escape from New York! No parole, no Open University courses (and certainly no f**king vote!).
Government itself - yes, we'd still have a Parliament and national elections, but it would be a much slimmer version (100 MPs at the most) - the majority party would act, in essence, as the Board of UK plc and it would be their job to set goals in all the major areas of society (economics, health, education, defence, sport and culture, etc). They could then hire and fire the best minds to run those departments - we wouldn't have ministers; instead, we'd score the globe to find the very best individuals the world has to offer. Yes, we'd pay them handsomely (just like football clubs pay good managers) but they would be judged on results. The cost of hiring the best would be more than covered by the savings we'd make on the 550 free-loading and ineffectual MPs (not to mention all those MEPs) that we would no longer need.
Education - this would need a radical rethink. Whilst we need to prepare our children for the big, wide world, we also need to recognise that each child is different - some are academically gifted, some are not; some are talented at sports, some at arts, some are born engineers, etc. The job of schools and teachers should be to uncover each child's true gifts and nurture them, encouraging them to grow into the best that they can be. How do we do that? At the moment, I have no idea whatsoever, but given the chance I'd have a damn good go at finding a solution.
Multiculturalism - let's face facts: multiculturalism doesn't work. It's a failed social experiment which sought to fly in the face of that basic rule of humanity that people who are the 'same' (be that on the basis of colour, creed, nationalism, religion) will always group together and be naturally wary and mistrusting of everyone who is not like them. So how to heal what has become a deeply divided society. Again, it may sound harsh, but the simple answer is to say that if you are here in Britain, then your first and foremost loyalty should be to this great land of ours. And being British should be to embrace a set of ideals, to embrace Britain's national identity - that identity doesn't have to be based on any religion or faith (though they'd certainly contain many christian values with a small 'c'), but they should encompass the common principles of good citizenship, of knowing what is right and what is wrong, focussing on responsibilities instead of rights. And if you don't like those ideals, then this is not the place for you.
No, I won't constantly apologise for Britain's history and the Age of Empire. Full stop.
Scotland - Let's be clear here. I'm a Unionist. I believe Great Britain is great because it is made up of all the different nations of the Union. It saddens me deeply, not that so many Scots want to leave the Union, but that so many Scots seem to think that all the ills north of the border are caused by everyone south of the border. That's simply not the case. There are plenty of people between Carlisle and Crewe who are equally pissed off with the state of our great nation, but unfortunately, short of doing a Sudan and having a twenty-year civil war at the end of which we can split England in two, we're stuck with it. Turning your back on the rest of the UK is not, I suggest, the solution...and yes, before people start saying that the same argument can be used about leaving Europe, my previous stance on Europe is that I think we would indeed better off in a reformed Europe that is more akin to what it was originally set up as i.e. a trading block, a 'Common Market' - unfortunately, I do not believe the EU will ever reform (and David Cameron's efforts to get it to do so aren't worth did diddlysquat!). As for Scottish independence, I strongly believe that if Britain was run the way I would have it run, then no Scot would want to even consider leaving it!

I could go on - there's plenty more policies, plenty more powerful strategies (and hard choices) - but I'll leave it there.

Of course, I'm always open to feedback and comment - except where it doesn't align with my own views and beliefs, in which case I will simply label it as poppycock...or outdated liberalism.

But feel free to comment nonetheless :)

214

2016-03-21T22:01:00.003+00:00

So, after almost 18 years of hillwalking in the Lake District, the 19th March 2016 saw me stand on the summit of the only 'Wainwright' that I hadn't climbed - St Sunday Crag.
It's an achievement of which I am unashamedly proud.

My first Wainwright was Helvellyn, climbed via Striding Edge on the 8th April 1998 (along with Nethermost Pike and Dollywaggon Pike) in the company of big brother Alex. Alex would accompany me on 10 further Wainwright bagging trips, out of the total of 84 that I have made in which I have summited at least one new Lakeland peak.
Of course Wendy has been my most frequent companion, walking with me to first-time summits on no less than 32 occasions. Ged has been with me on 17 trips. 24 trips I have made on my billy.
A few useless stats include:

Most Wainwrights climbed in a year - 29 in 2013, 27 in 2015
Fewest Wainwrights climbed in a year - 0 in 1999, 1 in 2006 and 2010
Most Wainwrights on a single walk - 11 on 21st August 2005
Best walk - the Fairfield Horseshoe (which I've actually walked 4 times since first walking it on 5th March 2000)
Dullest summit - Mungrisdale Common
Most surprising good summit - Black Fell

All in all, a pretty satisfying 17+ years...

Those who cannot remember the past...

2015-09-12T18:22:00.002+01:00

Hey-ho, everyone.
It's been a while.
Did you miss me?

So what, I hear you ask, has so piqued my interest that I feel compelled to put digit to keyboard and compose my first blog for many a week?
Well, surprise surprise, it's this migrant/refugee thing.
I know, I know, you're probably stifling a yawn and wondering if there is anything more interesting on You Tube, but before you go, just take a moment to read on...it may be of interest.
And I've put in an image of some Jihadis to get you thinking...

We are, my friends, whether we like it or not, at war.
It's not a conventional war of course, state-vs-state, oh no, it's something significantly different. It's an ideological war. And although we ourselves may not have declared war, we've certainly had war declared upon us...not on the Britain as a country, but instead on the way-of-life which we, and countless millions in the West and in other similar countries around the world, live.
ISIS (or ISIL, or 'So-Called Islamic State'...which I'm surprised the BBC hasn't already shortened to SCIS) despise our way of life. That much is clear. They regard Western culture as decadent and immoral, and similarly regard anyone who is 'Western' to be of the same. So let us be under no illusions whatsoever - in the eyes of those in ISIS, we are all legitimate targets for their hatred. And that hatred manifests itself in acts of utter barbarism, such as those countless beheadings of kneeling men and women that ISIS then so proudly circulate on the internet.

But none of this, I hear you cry, is new. You know all this - and of that fact I am aware.
The reason for re-inforcing the ISIS backstory is to set the scene for what I believe may be the ISIS masterstroke, a new phase of their war of hatred that we in the West are walking...nay, running blindly into, a new chapter of an unconventional warfare where ISIS mount a significant and bloody offensive.
Imagine, if you will, the following:
ISIS wish to strike a significant blow against the West, outside the boundaries of its so-called Caliphate. They already know that sporadic acts of individual, murderous violence are incredibly effective, such as the murder of Lee Rigby or the massacre at the offices of Charlie Hebdo - they create real terror right in the 'ordinary' streets of the decadent West, and fear in the minds of 'ordinary' Westerners. Imagine then, ten thousand such instances, all taking place simultaneously across the towns and cities of Europe, with 'sleeper' ISIS fighters, armed with machetes and knives and guns and home-made explosives and even (heaven forbid) weapons such as mustard gas, attacking at random, in shops, on trains, outside schools in cinemas, anywhere, everywhere. Even if each attacker killed only five people, we would still be looking at a potential death toll of 50,000 - that's more than 16 times as many died on 9/11.
The only problem for this grand ISIS plan...? How to get 10,000 of its fighters into the West.
Hmmm.
Then someone in the ISIS high command has a brilliant idea.
Let's manufacture a refugee crisis.
Let's create the circumstances whereby hundreds of thousands of people move en masse from the Caliphate and the regions around it into the heartland of Europe; and if we can get a million people on the move, then we only need to make sure that one in a hundred of them, just 1%, is aligned to the ISIS cause and willing to do their bidding when the time comes...

Now I'm not for a moment suggesting that this is in fact the case.
I'm not even suggesting that the mass movement of Syrian refugees into Greece and then across the various European borders is being orchestrated by ISIS in the same way old WW1 generals used to move little models of soldiers over painted depictions of distant battlefields.
And I'm certainly not for a moment suggesting that ISIS could ever be so cynical and callous and well, downright evil to ensure that Western morals are sufficiently outraged by images of dead children on a Turkish beach to have politicians clamouring for doors to be flung open to thousands upon thousands of those hurrying (or perhaps, being herded) across the Continent...
What I am suggesting, though, is that simple common sense tells us that when we are at war (and we are, whether we say we are are not), the last thing you want to do is be stupid enough to drop your guard and allow into your midst something that looks pretty innocuous on the face of it but could, just possibly, contain something very, very dangerous.

As the philosopher and novelist, George Santayana once said:
'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it'.
Now what was it I was trying to remember...?
Something about the Trojans?

Where there's a will...

2015-07-29T12:16:00.003+01:00

Well, my friends, it's certainly been a while since I posted anything on The Universe According to Andy.
Why?
Well, a combination of things really - too much work, a sudden surge in my hillclimbing activities, absence of any writing activity...and, oh, did I mention I had too much work?

Anyway, I've found time and motivation to put fingers to keyboard once again and share with you fabulous people an opinion or two...and, by Jove, there's no shortage of things to have an opinion on, is there.
There's the unbelievable Lord Sewel and his cocaine-snorting-off-a-prostitute's-breasts escapades; then there's Walter Palmer who, for reasons which are utterly unfathomable, thought it would be a good idea to pay $50,000 dollars to go to Zimbabwe so he could shoot a local celebrity lion with a bow-and-arrow; and not forgetting the zillions of migrants trying to make their way into the UK through the Channel Tunnel - clearly, they haven't heard about the current round of austerity cuts introduced by Mr Osbourne.

But I'm going to ignore all that and concentrate instead on this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-33684937

Now I don't know about you people out there in the big, bad world, but I think this sets an immensely worrying precedent. I'll be honest - I don't know the exact details of the relationship between Mrs Ilott and her mother, Mrs Jackson, but at the end of the day, the £486,000 estate of Mrs Jackson was hers and hers alone and she should be able to do with it as she damn well pleases.
The question is where will this end.
Is each individual, when deciding upon what they are going to do with their assets once they've pop their clogs, going to have to prepare in advance of their death a detailed dossier, complete with diary, photographs, e-mails and post-it notes, explaining the reasons behind each decision regarding the disposition of their assets? And even when there's a very detailed justification about why Child A got x% and Child B got y%, will Child B still be able to challenge that justification in court, putting forward alternative evidence to justify their claim on a larger proportion of the deceased's estate?
It's a very slippery slope indeed and one which this ruling certainly makes more likely.
As far as I'm concerned, a person's will is exactly that - their will, and however unpalatable an individual's decisions may be about what they want to do with their assets once they die, they should...nay, the MUST be sacrosanct and not subject to the decision of a judge who, however, well intentioned, cannot truly understand the dead individual's motivations.

Stop this football lunacy!!

2015-04-22T21:22:00.001+01:00

As many of you who regularly read my blog will know, I'm not a big fan of modern football.
Too many primadonnas.
Too many dodgy characters running the game.
Too much cheating.
But just when you thought the 'beautiful game' had sunk as far as it could go, along comes something so utterly ludicrous that all you can do is simply shake your head in disbelief and remind yourself that however low football sinks, there's always another dark crevice somewhere for it to drop a little further into.

Take yesterday's bizarre decision by the Scottish FA to hand-out a one-match ban to Inverness Caledonian Thistle defender Josh Meekings as punishment for committing handball in the 3-2 victory over Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final. Nothing wrong with that, some people who do not know the details of the match may say...except, during the actual game, the handball wasn't spotted by the referee or the assistant referee or any other official and no action was taken against the Inverness defender.
The one-match ban (which will incidentally result in Josh Meekings missing the Scottish Cup Final) was handed out retrospectively and only after Celtic (whom one can only say are being monumentally bad losers) sent a letter to the Scottish FA to ask why the handball wasn't spotted and why Josh Meekings wasn't therefore sent off and why they weren't awarded a penalty and why they didn't win the semi-final and why they weren't being given the chance to win the Cup for themselves.
This sets an incredibly dangerous precedent.
Let us, for example, explore where this might lead. If a player 'wins' a penalty by diving and his team subsequently scores and wins, can the opposition now send a letter to their FA and ask why the referee didn't see it was a dive and can they have that player booked and can they have the goal that came from the penalty rescinded and can they have the point they would have got for a draw instead of a loss...
And where do you stop? What about the referee's assistant incorrectly awarding a throw-in from which a team goes on and scores, can the team conceding the goal now ask the FA to investigate why the official didn't spot the ball coming off the other player's knee and can the result be changed...?
You see where this is going?
You simply can't go down the road of retrospective action like this, because down that road lies chaos.
Football has to accept the simple truth that officials make mistakes (funnily enough, just like players and just like managers). On some occasions those mistakes don't have an impact on the result. In other cases, like this one, they do. That's just the way it is. Some you win, some you lose. That's footie!
If football isn't prepared to accept this fact, then the only other option is for it to embrace technology to the extent that other sports have e.g. rugby, cricket and tennis...which I wouldn't hold my breath for, considering how long it took them to introduce the simple technology needed to determine whether the ball has actually crossed the line!)
But let's just allow our imagination to run wild and little and think how the incident involving Josh Meekings would have played out if football had introduced an equivalent of cricket's review system. The ball is headed goalwards - it makes contact with some part of Meekings body - the officials don't see a problem - so the Celtic captain immediately signals to the fourth official that they want to use one of their three 'reviews'. The TMO is called into action. He reviews the video evidence. He concludes it was handball and instructs the referee to award a penalty and send Josh Meekings off. Play resumes.

Now, can anyone tell me why a system like that wouldn't work?
It would certainly save us from the madness and vindictiveness of post-match letters of complaint and retrospective bans, not to mention the ever-present moans of losing fans claiming 'We Woz Robbed!'

An Alternative to Red Nose Day...?

2015-03-13T17:45:00.000+00:00

Now, I'll be honest with you - I'm not a big fan of Red Nose Day. In fact, I'm not really much of a fan of any of these TV charity events (Children in Need included).
Why?
Well, whilst I agree entirely with the idea of raising money for worthwhile causes (though wouldn't it be much better if we all agreed to add 1p to our income tax so that the burden of helping out good causes didn't fall just to the generous and conscientious?) I find it mildly repugnant that so many highly paid 'celebrities' from the entertainment world have the nerve to come on telly and implore everyone else to give as much as they can when, between them, they have enough money squirrelled away in HSBC Swiss bank accounts to solve many of the world's woes in a single blow.

So, that got me thinking...and that thinking eventually led to me coming up with this:
Wealth Re-Distribution Day
Yeah, I know, it'll need a catchier title...something like Blue Underpants Day when people can walk around town wearing blue underpants on the outside a la Superman...
Anyway, the name's not really important at the more. It's more about the concept, and that concept is as follows.
To start with, it's voluntary. To take part, you calculate how much money came into your household in the previous year (for those not working, that's how much benefits in total you received - for those working, that's how much you had left after the taxman took his portion).
You divide that number by 365, to give you a day's worth of money.
Your name and your day's worth of money joins everyone else's on a massive list, biggest amount at the top, the smallest at the bottom. Then, as if by magic, the list of amounts is reversed so that the biggest amount (that'll probably be Wayne Rooney, if he decides to play) goes to the person at the bottom of the list, the second-highest to the second lowest, and so on.
Minus 10% - that's the amount that we'll set aside from every person's amount so that good causes overseas can be supported.

Of course, there'll have to be a bit more detail in the rules and, because there'll undoubtedly be some people out there who'll look to abuse the idea and take advantage of it, there'll also need to be some kind of oversight (i.e. you'll have to agree to the possibility of having your calculation (and therefore your income) audited by KPMG or PWC, who'll naturally offer their services for free, because it's all for a good cause!)
But the underlying principle is, I believe, sound.
Just a day's worth of money, swapped...re-distributed.

Now, just for illustration purposes.
Wayne Rooney earns £350,000 a week (allegedly). If we assume he's paying his taxes (and doesn't squirrel his money away in a HSBC Swiss bank account), then he'll be bringing home around £200,000 a week or, to put it another way, £28,571 a day.
Imagine if that day's worth of Wayne's wealth (minus 10%) was re-distributed to a family in Swatham who live in a small two-up, two-down and can't afford to pay their heating bills - imagine what they could do with it!
Would Wayne really miss it? Somehow I doubt it.

Okay, so I know what you're thinking. There's a potential downside to this idea. What merit is there in a system which is likely to result in some of the feckless wasters of our society getting a bumper payday which they can then go out and blow on new shell-suits and a 95" flat-screen TV? Well, I'm not sure they'll get such bumper paydays - after all, if all the rumours are true about how much people on benefit are given, then they may end up in the top-half of the table, giving some of their 'hard-earned' benefits to a family where the two bread-winners are holding down five minimum-wage jobs between them.
But that might be a risk we have to take in order to get the thing working - it'll never be absolutely perfect.

So, what do you think?
Are you willing to sign up to the idea of putting forward one day of your income to see whether you'll be a giver or a receiver in Andy's Great Wealth Re-Distribution campaign?

Artist Rising

2015-03-07T21:57:00.000+00:00

Check out this image (and others) at Artist Rising
...or not - the choice is yours!

So how much should an MP be paid?

2015-03-05T17:32:00.002+00:00

I'm going to court controversy again...I know, it's starting to become a bit of a habit, but what can you do when you have so many thoughts and opinions billowing around inside your head?

Today, the subject is MPs.
(cue collective groan)
MPs have been getting a lot of grief recently...most of which is thoroughly deserved (the expenses scandal, for example). But what I'd like to focus on is the issue, brought to the fore recently by Sir Malcolm Rifkind's ill-advised comments and those which came after, of how much an MP should be paid and whether it is appropriate for them to earn money outside of being an MP.

Well, in my humble opinion, whether there is actually a need to answer the second question depends on what the answer is to the first.
So let's start at the beginning.
An MPs basic salary is, so we're told, £67,500 per annum - now this doesn't include all that money they can claim (legally or illegally) as expenses, and I'm not going to get into that here.
On the face of it, £67,500 per annum looks like a pretty tidy sum - it's a lot more than the average salary in the UK (about £25,000), though it's a lot less than a lot of people make - bankers, for example. Nonetheless, it's a pretty good gig if you can get it and, contrary to what Malcolm 'Please-Take-My-Foot-Out-Of-My-Mouth' Rifkind might contest, it is plenty enough for any sensible person to live on.
However, we need to be clear precisely what that £67,500 is buying. Are we purchasing the MP for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Or are we requiring that individual, like the rest of us, to work something between 45-50 hours a week, with maybe a little bit of overtime thrown in now and again? You see, this is important because if we are expecting the former (24/7) then that £67,500 suddenly equates to something a lot less when you think of it as an hourly rate - say £20-25,000...and I really do think that the 24/7 commitment is what we expect from our MPs, that they turn up at fundraisers in the morning, visit schools in the afternoon, then hold surgeries in the evening before answering a few letters and e-mails before they go to bed - oh, and we expect them to be doing the rounds at weekends too! Now if that's what we think they should be doing (and provided that that is what they actually are doing), then you'd have to argue that being paid £67,500 for a job which fills every waking minute of every day is actually not the best gig in the world.
But what if we look at it from the other side. If an MP works 45-50 hours a week for their constituents (which as I said before is not unreasonable and is largely in line with what the rest of us work) the salary of £67,500 does begin to look generous. In my opinion, if we the electorate are of the view that an MP should put in the same hours as the rest of, but no more, then I'd be inclined to suggest that that salary be trimmed somewhat...which then brings us on to the second question, that of whether MPs should be allowed to earn money outside their activities as an MP. My view on this is quite simple - the answer is yes, provided the activities from which they earn money are not linked to their role as an MP. So, for instance, if an MP uses their free-time to write a book on the history of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and gains income from sales of such a book, then that's fine; however, if they gain income as a non-executive director of a local company on the basis of their political connections, then that is a no-no.

So, to summarise:
We need to decide exactly what we expect our MPs to be doing before we decide on whether they are appropriately paid - if we want 24/7 commitment, then we need to be willing to pay for that; if we just expect 40-50 hours a week (as is the norm) then we need to trim the current salary a little but allow MPs to generate additional income from activities that are not linked to their role as an MP.
Simple.

Enough is enough!

2015-03-03T18:13:00.002+00:00

Now I know I'm heading into controversial territory here and that it's very likely that there'll be some backlash from all the lily-livered liberals out there, but a recent event has prompted me to go on a bit of a rant.

So what are the details of this 'recent event' I hear you whisper as you lean forward conspiratorially, your interest piqued a little.
Well - picture this:
A normal suburban street with a normal suburban semi-detached house. It's just about 7.00 pm in the evening. Inside that house is an elderly couple, doing kitcheny things in the kitchen. Suddenly, there's a loud crash and the sound of shattering glass. They hurry into the living room at the front of the house in time to see a hoodie and his mate making off with her tablet and his laptop through the large bay window they have smashed to get in! The Police are called, duly arrive, take down details, remark that it's probably junkies looking for something to sell so they can buy more drugs, then issue a crime number (and no doubt promptly forget about the whole thing). The elderly couple then ring their insurers and are told that yes they're covered but they'll need to pay the excess...and that's an excess on the window (because it's 'buildings') and an excess on the items stolen (because that 'contents'). Double-whammy!
The End.

So I ask you this, my friends:
How in God's name have we, as a society, come to the point where these sort of crimes can take place almost as a matter of routine, where those who are supposed to enforce the law simply shrug their shoulders apathetically and admit to everyone that there's no chance that the perpetrators will ever be caught, and ordinary, law-abiding people are left out of pocket to the tune of a couple of hundred pounds, not to mention being left with the insidious feeling of having had their home violated?
It's just perverse.

The cause of these societal ills?
Well, no doubt the intelligentsia would debate this long into the night, citing countless failures of government, the role of inequality, how we all should share some of the blame, blah, blah, blah.
Yet the truth is, I think, quite simple.
We are too soft on wrong-doers, and I mean ALL wrong-doers...and the time has come to begin to turn the tide. And that means simply being less accommodating, less understanding and less lenient.
'But wait!' the liberals cry. 'We're a civilised society and we can't be going around being all medieval about justice and punishment. We need to be caring, focus on the causes of crime and on the need to rehabilitate...'
This is the point where such people need a firm slap across the face!
Since when did the definition of 'civilised' equate to being unduly tolerant of criminals?
Surely, a 'civilised' society is one which fully understands the difference between what is right and what is wrong, ensures that it's citizens are fully aware of the distinction between the two and then promotes and rewards the former whilst harshly discouraging and punishing the latter.
Such punishment must be swift and unequivocal. It should not concern itself with the whys and the wherefores or with cause or motivation, nor should it be hamstrung by the blaming of others for the failures of the individual. That punishment must by brutal and visible in order for it to act as the necessary deterrent to those who may consider a criminal act.

Returning to the individual who broke into the elderly couple's house - I care not a jot why he did it. I only care that he is caught and he is punished in such a way that he never does it again.
But then the liberal cries out - 'But he has a drugs problem and he was only feeding his habit.'
My response - 'I don't care.'
The liberal continues - 'He comes from a broken home.'
My response - 'I don't care.'
The liberal presses further - 'Society has failed him. It hasn't provided him with a job and an income.'
My response - 'I still don't care.' And I end the conversation by giving the liberal another hearty slap!

My solution is simple.
I believe that that individual, and all the others like him who blight our society, should be shipped off to a remote island (like the one below)...and there he should be left.

That's it.
Nothing else.
No prison cell. No TV. No showers. No toilets. No pool room. No state-funded degree. No rehabilitation. No vote. No parole. No eventual 're-integration' into society.
Absolutely nothing...except perhaps just enough time to reflect on choices made and misery caused to others.

There...rant over.
Feel free to comment...if you dare :)

And now for...Red Plus Zone - the audiobook

2015-02-17T20:54:00.001+00:00

Let us, dear friends, reflect for a moment on the life of my latest novel, the fabulous Red Plus Zone:
First there was an idea for a short story which soon became an idea for a novel.
And when that novel was finished and polished (thanks April) and clothed in its splendid garb (thanks Luke), Matt and the incredible people at Autharium helped it become an e-book.
But the journey didn't stop there!
There was the excellent review by Stranger Views and others, followed by the excitement and the rush of sales of the print-on-demand paperback...and soon there'll be the print run and a modest stack of books at Gardners, waiting to whisked off to bookshops around the UK at the touch of an order button.
And that, you might think, would be that...and satisfying enough that would be.
But wait.
What's this?

It's an order for a Rode NT1-A Microphone!
So why on earth would a committed patron of the written word like myself be investing his hard-earned cash in such a contraption (not to mention a Rode PSA1 microphone boom, a ProSonus audiobox, a pair of Sennheiser HD202 headphones and a copy of Audacity software for his MacBook (which is free, by the way!)) What madness is compelling me to set up a small recording studio in the vast, subterranean bowels of Chez Ritchie?
Well, you see folks, there's one other avenue in the life-cycle of Red Plus Zone available for me to explore...the world of the audiobook.
Yes, my friends, it's true. As well as working on the first of two sequels to Red Plus Zone (which I'm calling Black Plus Zone), I'm also going to spend some of my spare time this year embarking on the slow journey towards mastery of the spoken word, so that one day soon I'll be able to narrate Red Plus Zone (and its progeny) and share that narration with the rest of humankind through the wonders of Amazon's ACX.
And I'm not going to stop there, oh no.
There's also 'The Book That THEY...' which I believe is crying out to be brought to aural life by my dulcet Lancastrian tones.
And then there's 'Adventures in the Great Land of Rhyme'...oooh, the list goes on.

'But why not get a 'proper' narrator to do it?' I hear the doubters cry. 'They're the professionals! You'll just f**k it up!'
'Please,' I retort, 'watch your language. This is a family blog!' Then, after a moment's thought, I explain: 'It's simple, really. It'll be fun!'
And if I'm no good at it, (and I'm honest enough with myself, I think, to admit it if that's true) then at least I'll have given it a go...and I'll still have the option to convince a professional narrator to give voice to my words.
So, I ask, what is there to lose?

Indie Authors and Reviews: Interview with Andrew Ritchie, author of Red Plus ...

2015-02-06T08:12:00.001+00:00

Indie Authors and Reviews: Interview with Andrew Ritchie, author of Red Plus ...: Welcome Andy! I loved your first trilogy - The Book that THEY Do Not Want You to Read - and I'm so glad you wrote Red Plus Zone. It&...

So what's next?

2015-02-02T21:03:00.002+00:00

Let's have a look at that checklist:

Red Plus Zone written √
Red Plus Zone edited √
Cover designed √
e-Book published √
Paperback published √
Family, friends and colleagues cajoled into buying copies √
Place on an Amazon bestseller* list achieved √
Impromptu book signing session today (hence the picture!) √

All done. Cue a pat on the back.

But what's next for Red Plus Zone?

Well, the next stage of the 'Grand Plan' is to organise (through fabulous publisher Matt) for a short print run of Red Plus Zone paperbacks to be done so that copies of the book are then available for local bookshops to stock; couple that with directly contacting independent booksellers in Lancashire and, hey presto, the vision of Red Plus Zone sitting on either the sci-fi shelf (next to something by Gary Gibson, perchance) or the 'local interest' shelf (next to a book about Lancashire Pub Walks)) is realised. Progress with contacting local booksellers so far...? Sadly, not as good as I'd hoped, but then I guess it's still early days. Patience, dear boy. Patience.

And what about drumming up some interest through the local newspaper? Well, I'm on with that as well :) Fingers crossed that a story about someone doing something creative for once is given precedence over articles about illegal drivers and perverts. That would be refreshing.

And not forgetting reviews - oh yes, I'm afraid I'll need to keep pestering those who read Red Plus Zone to go onto Amazon (.co.uk and .com), as well as Goodreads, and wax lyrical about how much they enjoyed it, so that I can then tweet and blog about it and maybe get more people to download the e-Book or buy the paperback, so they can review it and wax lyrical about how much they enjoyed it, and so on...of, you get the picture.

And in the future...?

Well, I do hope that a couple of members of the British Science Fiction Association will come across RPZ, read it, be utterly blown away by it, recommend it to their friends, then nominate it for a Best Novel award, which it then wins, leading to fame, a massive publishing deal, an obscene advance on an eight book deal and, ultimately, sufficient sales to enable me to buy this:

Oh, and there's still the dream (and it is a dream) of seeing Red Plus Zone on the shelves at Waterstones in Bolton...though some may say that's a likely as me owning the camper van!!

A little more realistically,maybe, and perhaps more intriguing as well, is the recently discovered possibility of having Red Plus Zone available as an audiobook...yes, that's right folks, an audiobook!

You see, in much the same way as Amazon's Createspace print-on-demand mechanism has made it possible for my e-Book to take on a physical form, so Amazon's acx.com mechanism creates the potential for the aural form to be realised as well. Of course, there's countless questions to be asked and answered first, such as:

Should I do Red Plus Zone first, or maybe start off with The Book That THEY...?
Can I find a narrator who fits the bill (and lives up to my expectations), and who'll also go 50:50 on royalties (because there's no way I can afford to pay up front!!)
Or maybe I should I think about setting up a little home studio and doing the narration myself - now that would be fun!

Much to ponder on the audiobook front, methinks.

And finally, the last action in my Grand Plan?

Well, it's not exactly guaranteed to generate more sales of Red Plus Zone - in fact, it's very much dependant upon people having read RPZ:

Write a sequel.

Working title: BLACK PLUS ZONE

I've decided that this new detective mystery will take place only three weeks after the events of Red Plus Zone and it will be darker in tone than Red Plus Zone (deeper 'Nordic Noir', as Stranger Views called it). I already have the plot mapped out and the scene plan drafted.

All I need to do now is write it!

* #14 on Books > Fiction > Science Fiction > Post-Apocalyptic

Red Plus Zone is a bestseller*

2015-01-28T10:35:00.001+00:00

Well, dear friends, yesterday certainly was an interesting and rewarding day.
Now I'm not exactly sure how many wonderful people actually bought the paperback version of Red Plus Zone, but what I do know is that it was enough to propel it up to the dizzy heights of 2,913 in Amazon's bestseller rankings:

And the fun didn't stop there!
A couple of hours later, even though it had dropped ever so slightly in the overall rankings, it actually rose three places to #20 (or 'No.20' as we would say here in the UK) in the Post-Apocalyptic sub-group of the Science Fiction sub-group of the Fiction sub-group of Books!

And then...

...before eventually, after a flurry of late evening purchases...

So does that mean that Red Plus Zone can be classed as a 'bestseller'?

Well, this screenshot would certainly suggest that that is indeed the case.

'But hold on, Andy,' I hear the voices of indignation cry out from across the Interweb. 'Surely you're not suggesting that Red Plus Zone is a bestseller in the way that a Dan Browne or a Lee Childs novel is a bestseller.'

And the answer is:

'Of course not. To believe such a thing would be a sad case of extreme self-delusion.'

Instead, Red Plus Zone is probably best described as a 'bestseller with an asterisk' which means that it's okay to refer to it as a bestseller but when I do so I need to put a little footnote at the bottom of the page which says:

* Amazon Bestseller Books > Fiction > Science Fiction > Post-Apocalyptic

Now that, I think, is being honest.

Blog Tour - John Fioravanti

2015-01-27T07:20:00.001+00:00

Having enjoyed hosting my previous big tour, I thought I'd do another.
Today, I'm handing over my blog to JOHN FIORAVANTI so he can talk about his new book.
Over to you, John!

THE GENESIS SAGA TOUR

I’m grateful to my host of this fifth post of THE GENESIS SAGA TOUR, and to Nonnie Jules of 4WillsPublishing who arranged it all! The full lineup for this tour can be found @ http://wp.me/P43s9i-2g

My purpose, is to give readers a greater familiarity with planet Genesis – within the Equations universe created by author and friend, Kenneth Tam.

To this end, we embarked upon a series of interviews of some key players in Book One of The Genesis Saga: PASSION & STRUGGLE. Nonnie Jules of the famed interviews, ‘Who’s On The Shelf With Nonnie Jules?’ agreed to lend her formidable skills to this process. She gave me the nickname “Fio” a while back – so keep that in mind in case she opts to use it!

Nonnie and I are together in the formal living room of Professor Marco Rossini’s home on the University of Genesis City (UGC) campus. Marco is about to give us some historical background about the earliest days of humans on Genesis going back roughly 700 years – to the year 2181 CE. Let’s listen in…

MR: Nonnie, I want to take you back to the year 2181 – the human survivors of the Omega Virus are aboard the United Nations colonizer ship, UNS Divine Scepter, and are only a few days’ travel from Genesis. John actually found this story buried in the archives. I plan to make it part of a book I’m going to write. Do you mind if I tell you?

NJ: Not at all! I love a good story, right Fio? (John grins and winks at Marco.)

MR: Great! This story involves Jethro Hodge – an ancestor of today’s Navy Marine Commandant, Gillian Hodge – and his five-year-old grandson, Joachim. Jethro was not a military man, but rather a civil engineer and architect. He was preparing to direct the construction of Genesis City when the ship arrived. The story unfolds in his home…

Joachim Hodge bounded into his grandfather’s cozy reading room to find its owner sitting in his favorite chair, absorbed in an old-fashioned book. Hearing the boy’s running steps, the sandy-haired family patriarch dropped the book in his lap just in time to reach out, catch his airborne five-year-old, and set him upon his book.

“Great catch, Papa!” The boy squirmed as he reached for the book under his bottom. “What’s this, Papa?”

“That’s the story of our people, JoJo.”

“Our family?”

Jethro Hodge smiled at his only grandchild. JoJo gave himself that nickname when he was learning to talk at twenty months. All he could manage from ‘Joachim’ was ‘JoJo’ – and it stuck as the family began to use it from that day forward.

“Yes and everyone else’s family too. Tell me, what did you learn in school today?”

His Papa asked him that question almost every day, but today young JoJo’s face lit up with excitement as he remembered the big news.

“Papa, do you know that we’re all flying in a spaceship? It’s called Divine Semper! How come, Papa?”

Hodge opened the book in Joachim’s lap so the boy could see the picture of the ship on the inside cover of the leather-bound volume. “This is our ship, JoJo; it’s called Divine Scepter.”

“That’s the same picture we saw in class today,” Joachim said pensively as he studied the drawing carefully. The boy looked up from the book and locked eyes with his grandfather. “What’s a Divine Semper, Papa?”

Jethro settled in to tell his grandson the story. “Well, JoJo, a scepter is a fancy staff carved from wood used by kings a long time ago. The staff was a reminder to their people that the king had the power to rule. The word ‘divine’ means something that belongs to the Gods.”

Joachim scrunched up his face in thought for a moment as he looked at the picture. “It doesn’t look like a staff.”

“You’re right, it doesn’t. This ship was provided by the Gods as a sign of their will that we travel to a new world.”

“How come, Papa?” Hodge smiled indulgently at the oft-repeated question.

“Well, young sir, that is an interesting story. Shall I tell you?”

“Please, Papa!” Jojo’s face was animated as he clapped his hands together in glee. He loved his grandfather’s stories.

“Alright, Jojo, get comfy now. It all started a long time ago, before any of us on this ship were born. Our grandparents and great-grandparents came from a world called Earth. But there was a terrible war – people fighting each other, and killing each other because they disagreed about the Gods they believed in.” Jethro looked to see if the boy was following. He nodded his curly head, so Hodge continued.

“One day, some people created a very powerful disease to make their enemies sick and then die. They called it a virus. It was so powerful that no one could control it… it had a mind of its own. They called it Omega. You won’t believe what happened next… Jojo… are you listening?

Little Joachim had fallen fast asleep in Jethro’s arms. The story would be finished another time…

NJ: Marco! You’re just going to leave me hanging? I want the rest of it…

MR: And so you shall have it, Nonnie! But first, let me get us some refreshments. I baked chocolate chip cookies this morning, and I know they’re John’s favorites…

Join us next time when Marco finishes the story for Nonnie!

Author Bio:

John Fioravanti is a retired secondary school educator who completed his thirty-five year career in the classroom in June, 2008.

Throughout his career, John focused on developing research, analysis, and essay writing skills in his History Classroom. This led to the publication of his first non-fiction work for student use, Getting It Right in History Class. A Personal Journey to the Heart of Teaching is his second non-fiction work; it attempts to crystallize the struggles, accomplishments, and setbacks experienced in more than three decades of effort to achieve excellence in his chosen field.

John’s first work of fiction is Passion & Struggle and is set within Kenneth Tam’s Equations universe (Iceberg Publishing). He claims that, after two non-fiction books, he’s having the time of his life bringing new stories and characters to life!

At present, John lives in Waterloo, Ontario with Anne, his bride of forty-one years. They have three children and three grandchildren. In December of 2013, John and Anne founded Fiora Books for the express purpose of publishing John’s books.

The Genesis Saga Trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUqwuCcAEyU

Contacts:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fiora-Books/516763875088924?ref=hl

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FioraBooks

Website: https://fiorabooks.cm

Book Purchase Links:

Amazon USA: http://www.amazon.com/ebook/dp/B00O7X5SXK/

Amazon Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/ebook/dp/B00O7X5SXK/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/ebook/dp/B00O7X5SXK/

Amazon Australia: http://www.amazon.com.au/ebook/dp/B00O7X5SXK/

Chapters/Indigo Canada: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/9780993655821

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/1120573892?ean=9780993655821

Blog Tour Links:

Goodreads Event Page – https://www.goodreads.com/event/show/953117-the-genesis-saga-tour

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At last...it is here!

2015-01-25T16:37:00.000+00:00

Yes, folks, the wait is over.
My latest blockbuster, Red Plus Zone, is now in print and available to order from Amazon - and I have to admit that I'm excited beyond measure. There is, it must be said, something immensely satisfying about seeing your own words on the printed page.
Oh, and contrary to popular belief, I have not just spent the last 24 hours sat holding this copy of my book, stroking it gently and purring like the proverbial cat that got the cream. I have, admittedly, been wearing a particularly satisfied grin!

So what's next?
Well, dear friends, that's where you come in.
(You're all fabulous, by the way - have I mentioned that?)
I'm really, really hoping you'll be able to do me a massive favour...actually, two massive favours.
Massive Favour No.1 - I want you to buy Red Plus Zone - it's as simple as that.
Massive Favour No.2 - I want you to place your order on Tuesday 27th January. Why? Well, if truth be told, I'm trying to get as many people as possible to buy the book on the same day as a sort of experiment to try and see how far up the Amazon sales rankings it can go. I reckon that if everyone I know buys a copy, and all the people that follow my blog buy a copy, and then each of them manages to convince a couple of their friends to buy a copy, and then they are able to do likewise...well, who knows...
So what do you say, my wonderful followers - are you up for it?

Click here to buy in Blighty.
Click here to buy across The Pond.

Remember, not only would you be making me monumentally happy (which should be reason enough, I guess) but you'll also be getting your hands on a book that the Stranger Views website described as 'intense, brooding and unsettling'.
Can't be bad!

Oh, how I love a good review

2015-01-22T08:40:00.000+00:00

Now I know that there are people out there writing books, making films, taking photos, performing on stage or painting pictures who say, quite genuinely, that they do these things 'because they need to satisfy their inner muse' and, as a consequence, they place little store in the opinions of others. Some even say that they never, ever read a review of their efforts.

Well, folks, I'm not one of those people.
Whether I like it or not, I do value the opinion of others and, sad as it may sound, I do (ever just a little) crave praise for what I've written, if only to have the confirmation of my own self-belief in what I write; and let's face facts, it's that self-belief (misguided or otherwise) that we ourselves have the ability to produce something of worth that others may appreciate and gain enjoyment from that motivates most of us to do what we do and then, most crucially, place it out there in the public domain for others to scrutinise, dissect and comment upon. (If it really was just your inner muse you were aiming to satisfy, then you'd put what you'd created in a cupboard under the stairs, out of sight of others...wouldn't you?)
And it's a thrill, believe me, when you get that confirmation. It initially comes from family and supportive friends (though good friends are often critical as well), then occasionally there's a bolt from the blue, a name you don't recognise posting a positive comment or a high rating - and then there's an extra warmth to the glow you get when you read it.

Well, following the review of Red Plus Zone that was posted on the Stranger Views yesterday, I am positively radiant!

Click here to have a read the whole thing on the Stranger Views website.

And it couldn't have come at a better time, as final preparations are underway for the print version of Red Plus Zone to be made available...and with that in mind, I'll soon be asking a favour of you all, my fine followers out there in Blogland, to help me spread the word about Red Plus Zone, to tell your partners, your children (of a suitable age, naturally), parents, siblings, friends, work colleagues, even strangers on the street who you see reading a book or a Kindle (other e-readers are available...apparently).
Gird your loins, my friends - I'm calling in a favour!

Please, Mr Sainsbury's...A word.

2015-01-16T21:11:00.002+00:00

There's actually something wrong with this picture.
Any ideas?
Well, it's simple really - the post scanning area (where your shopping ends up after the till-meister has whipped it across the barcode scanner) is unnaturally free of items...which is nothing like reality.
In my local Sainsbury's supermarket, things are very, very different. In my reality, you haven't even acknowledged the operative's breezy 'Good Morning' and got the first of your 'bags for life' unfolded than the scene before you is suddenly one of total grocery carnage.
That idea you had about keeping all the chilled and frozen stuff together? Forget it - your Muller yoghurts are now lost somewhere underneath those new bags for life hanging at the end of the checkout.
Your bulb of garlic? You'll never see that again!
And shit...your jam-filled doughnuts are being mercilessly crushed beneath a roaring, rolling tide of Plum Tomatoes and Heinz Tomato Soup (with a hint of basil).

But why is it like this?
Surely the Mad Scanner sat on the other side of the till can see that your grapes are being squeezed juiceless between your Innocent Orange and that 2.5 kg bag of King Edwards Potatoes!
Surely the sensible thing would be to slow down, to put items through at a reasonable pace...
Ahh yes, it would, wouldn't it. Only, that doesn't appear to be the Sainsbury's way. You see, it seems that all of Sainsbury's check-outs are monitored for throughput - operatives have to scan a certain number of items per minute - this is what the operative's performance is measured on.
On the face of it, there is some semblance of logic in it - after all, the faster you can get items through the checkout, the more people you can serve, the shorter the queues (or the fewer checkout staff you need, whatever your economic, cost-saving preference may be).
But that's just on the face of it.
The truth is that the defining element of how quickly an individual gets through the checkout is not the till-meister. It's the shopper. How quickly the shopper moves on depends on how quickly they can pack their bags and, whether Sainsbury's like it or not, no matter how quickly my groceries are thrown at me or pressed into a churning mass of tins, cartons, vegetables and toiletries by the whirring conveyor, it's going to take me the same amount of time to pack my bags...in fact, truth be know, if I'm feeling a little annoyed by the fact that my Warburton's Toastie loaf has been crushed into the shape of a French baguette by a checkout operative worried about their 'item throughput speed', I'm actually going to take a little longer to pack those bags. The word you're looking at here is belligerence.
Oh, and there's another word that Sainsbury's would do well to look up in a dictionary - that's the word 'alternative' - I choose to shop at Sainsbury's. I can choose to shop elsewhere

So a word of advice to Mike Coupe (he's the CEO, don't you know) - if you want to keep on pissing off loyal customers, then by all means continue telling your till-staff that the most important thing is to get every item scanned just as quickly as is humanly possible, and sod the fact that half of the customer's fruit has just been turned to shit. However, if you want to avoid having shorter queues at the checkouts because no bugger is shopping at Sainsbury's anymore, then can I suggest that you instruct your till-meisters to take a moment to watch how quickly people are able to pack their bags and to then alter their speed accordingly.
That way you'll end up with fewer misshapen loaves and fewer disgruntled shoppers who suddenly find themselves wondering whether they should follow your company's advice and 'Try Something New Today'...like Asda.

Stranger Views

2015-01-12T21:27:00.001+00:00

I thought I'd just take a moment or two, my loyal blog-followers (you're all fabulous, by the way!) to point you in the direction of a particularly cool web-site.

It's particularly cool because it recently had a fabulous article about whether Brian Blessed is the best Doctor Who we never had (which I'm beginning to think he is!)
Click here to read it.

The site is called Stranger Views and if you're into sci-fi films and books (like me) then I think you'll really enjoy it.

I do!

That to which we aspire...

2015-01-08T14:53:00.000+00:00

As this year has started busily with regards to my other job (that's right, folks, I have decided that from here on in I will be referring to myself as 'a full-time writer who does a little bit of business consultancy and auditing on the side' rather than referring to my writing career as some kind of sideline or hobby - besides, referring to myself as a writer first-and-foremost gives me a recusant, bohemian air...methinks), I haven't had the opportunity to really throw myself into any of the far-too-many writing projects that I want to tackle this year (such as The Curious Case of God vs Pratt, Deus Magnus, the follow-up to Red Plus Zone, the Minstrel Yan poem, etc) - instead, what little spare time I've had so far this year has been devoted to my other target - reading as many of the SF Masterworks as possible.
And I'm not sure I could have started off with two better books :)

The first is The Lathe of Heaven by the fabulously named Ursula Le Guin (helpful picture of the cover below).

I wanted to read one of her books after I heard her name mentioned in Dominic Sandbrook's fascinating 4-part TV series:
The Unearthly History of Science Fiction

If you haven't watch it, check it out - it's really good!

I couldn't get hold of The Left Hand of Darkness (it's on my list though) so I went for The Lathe of Heaven instead...and I certainly wasn't disappointed.

I'm not going to go into great detail about it (I'm not very good at dissecting and analysing books) - instead, I'm simply going to say that it has a fabulous concept at its core (the ability of a man to change reality through his dreams, and another man's desire to control that ability) and, just as fascinating from my perspective (because I'm a writer, remember), it is written with a wonderful, flamboyant prose. Here's a writer who is determined to use the full pantheon of words, someone who won't shy away from using precisely the right noun or adjective just out of fear that the reader may not understand it - that's an approach I really, really like (after all, looking up a word is what a dictionary is for!)

I'd summarise The Lathe of Heaven as exactly the sort of science fiction novel that I, as a writer (refer to my earlier point) aspires to write.

The other book I have read since the start of the year?

Actually, it's the second element of this two-part offering (another helpful image below), both by Czech writer Karel Capek (the man credited with bringing us the word ROBOT...which is predominantly the reason why the play 'RUR' is the first of the two parts of this book - it's okay, and would be interesting to see on stage, but it's not what I'm going to wax lyrical about!)

The War with the Newts (which is what I'm going to wax lyrical about) I found to be incredibly engaging and very, very clever, because it really is more of a critique of all that is wrong with mankind - yes, it has some baggage from the time it was written (1936) but that doesn't detract from the underlying premise, which is that that which we take advantage of and treat badly may just come back and bite us in the ass!!

It's just groovy!

So there you have it, folks - two really, really good books for your perusal and delectation.

Hopefully, one day in the not-too-distant future, someone will be kind enough to say something similar in their blog about something which a writer called Andrew Ritchie has written.

He's a full-time writer who does a little bit of business consultancy and auditing on the side, don't you know...

Happy New Year!!

2015-01-01T11:38:00.000+00:00

Here's a little New Year's poem,
A note to those I love.
Peace and joy I hope you'll have,
Passed down from up above.
You all to me are precious and
No things I value more, for
Each of you is special in more
Ways than you could know.
You all make life so wondrous,
Every minute of each day,
And I only hope that what you give to me I can
Repay.