Tomfoolery

Rom 1:32  Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
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I think I’ll give up on my writing blog!

April Fools!

Such a silly day of pranks and tomfoolery; where on earth did this April Fools day derive its origins from?

From Wikipedia:

In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1392), the "Nun's Priest's Tale  is set Syn March bigan thritty dayes and two. Modern scholars believe that there is a copying error in the extant manuscripts and that Chaucer actually wrote, Syn March was gon. Thus the passage originally meant 32 days after March, i.e. May 2, the anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England  to Anne of Bohemia , which took place in 1381. However, readers apparently misunderstood this line to mean "32nd of March," i.e. 1st April. In Chaucer's tale, the vain cock Chauntecleer is tricked by a fox.
 

In 1509, a French poet referred to a poisson d’avril (April fool, literally "April fish"), a possible reference to the holiday.In 1539, Flemish poet Eduard de Dene wrote of a nobleman who sent his servants on foolish errands on the 1st of April. In 1686, John Aubrey  referred to the holiday as "Fooles holy day", the first British reference. On the 1st  of April, 1698, several people were tricked into going to the Tower of London  to "see the Lions washed".The name "April Fools" echoes that of the Feast of Fools , a Medieval holiday held on the 28th December.
 

In the Middle Ages, New Year's Day was celebrated on the 25th of March in most European towns. In some areas of France, New Year's was a week-long holiday ending on the 1st of April. So it is possible that April Fools originated because those who celebrated on the 1st of January made fun of those who celebrated on other dates. The use of the 1st of January as New Year's Day was common in France by the mid-sixteenth century,and this date was adopted officially in 1564 by the Edict of Roussillon.
 

In the eighteenth century, the festival was often posited as going back to the time of Noah. According to an English newspaper article published in 1789, the day had its origin when Noah sent his dove off too early, before the waters had receded; he did this on the first day of the Hebrew month that corresponds with April.
[end wiki]
 

Well now, that was an eyeful! I say that April fools day is for fools who believe everything and are willing to accept things at face value. Tricks can land you in a heap of trouble. Just read the book Needful Things by Stephen King. One trick led to another, all assuming the wrong person played the trick and eventually all of Castle Rock was blown to bits, just because of the spinning wheels of tricks.
 
So as you go about today, playing needless tricks, all in the name of ‘fun’, remember some people don’t get the humor and it could have ill effects; possibly coming back to bite you in the butt.
 

“There’s no fool like an old fool.”

My Favorite Authors

Job 7:14 Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:
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My top five, not in any specific order:
 
Stephen King - He is one of my faves because of his style. I can’t say he has class but he’s a writer, he doesn’t need class. We writer’s know we need to grab our reader by the...throat, and this is just what Mr. King does. He takes you by the throat, throttles you around a bit, and leaves you gasping for breath right up to the very last word! Favorite book? It would have to be Duma Key, for now.

Dean Koontz - I love his class! This man knows gore, delivers a scene without degrading human beings. I’m hard pressed to find vulgarity in his words and it has to be in the characters nature for it to EVER be seen in his books, and I’ve read many. Favorite Koontz book? Odd Thomas, hands down. And I’ve read tons of Koontz’s books.

Shirley Jackson - Style AND class! Here’s a winning combination. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read The Haunting of Hill House, and her short story Lottery Ticket? Well that drew a lot of negative feedback in its day, although today, people wouldn’t bat an eyelash!

Ray Bradbury - Now this man has style, class AND longevity. Everything he touches turns to sold! He don’t beat around the bush in delivering a story. He does it with an eloquence we all, as writers, aspire to do.

Tolkien - Tolkien has an air of grace. His words flow perpetually through time, and carry the weight of a feather all the while holding you captive by his poetic style. This man treated writing as an art form and delivered to us characters that will forever remain entrenched in our hearts. Lord of the Rings is my favorite all time book!

Now, I’ve left out many outstanding authors like Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, J.D. Salinger’s, Catcher in the Rye, Mark Twain and all of the classic writers from our past that we’ve come to know and love. I’ve also not mentioned J.K Rowling or the James Patterson’s of the world today, who knock on our children’s door and they allow these characters entry, into their hearts and quickly become the favorites of their time.

Yes, anyone can write, but not all people can write a classic, or write on the levels of these authors that will carry their writing through the portal of time. It takes a person dedicated to bringing you an art and delivering to your doorstep the light, love and grace of style that only writers can display for you.

Remember, writers are your blanket on a cold evening, they wrap you in their hearts and souls and carry you to loftier worlds where you can live in the fantasy realm of your dreams. Why not hug a writer today, within a good book that is. :)

Monday Monday...POV shift

My past is my wisdom to use today. . . my future is my wisdom yet to experience. Be in the present because that is where life resides.
Gene Oliver, Life and the Artistry of Change

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Well as you know yesterday was Father’s Day. I didn’t get to see my dad but I called him just to let him know I was thinking of him. He received my card (Sunday’s poem) on Thursday, thanked me and he went on to have a nice day.

Steven got a tee shirt from Adam with all the Marvel comic heroes (and maybe some villains) on it and as he still loves comics, he loved the shirt. He also got a call from Bio-kid, first time in thirteen years, which I know made him happy. We went to church, and went to lunch afterward at a place of his choice, and Taco Johns was his choice.

All in all, it was a nice, sunny, windy Father’s Day.

I’m reading a book called Rose Madder by Stephen King. I’ve read it before but as in all of Kings novels, these need to be read more than two or three times in your lifetime. Being a writer it is sometimes hard to put on the ‘just a reader’ hat and I’m always dissecting elements of the book as I go along. Maybe this is why I read it two and three times, so I can really grasp the full story.

I think in this book, rules are broken but handled with delicate care as only a master crafter of writing can do. He jumps POV, and as you know POV is point of view. The book begins with Rose getting beat by her husband on a daily basis for too many years until she finally leaves.

She goes to a battered women shelter eight hundred miles away. Then there is Norman the battering husband. As we’re reading Rose’s POV and are virtually living in her head, the story shifts to Norman back home, wanting revenge because she left. This part of the story is in italics, so we know Norman from Rose.

I’m not going to tell you all of the things Rose does but really this book is all over the place. She leaves and a walk down the street can take three pages until she finally makes it to the bus stop. Like I said, King is a master. It lends to the story because we are deep into Rose, when Norman the madman, sits at his desk, seeking revenge.

Literally gripping storytelling. Is POV shift okay in a story? Apparently when done craftily it can be pulled off with style. A new writer should never attempt this because a lot of the times you lose a part of your story, but in Rose’s case, this was done thoughtfully as the story progressed because we the reader are thinking, “what did Norman do when he found out Rose left?” It works because not only is it what Norman DID when she left, it is what he DOES!

Weaved into the story, Norman’s POV is as important as Rose’s. We need both sides of the story and Mister King can make you squirm in your seat awaiting the next page.

Just as in any holiday, Father’s day to me is seen from my perspective, and Father’s have their own perspective. Shifts in POV, virtually imperative to making some stories work. :)