Bobbing Around

   Let me explain. Every day, my body produces perhaps 2500 cell mutations that by rights should end up in cancer. And yet, I have got to my great and advanced age without allowing these to get away. Magic!

   The magic is in the immune system, and in safety mechanisms that are built into the cell itself. The immune system has specialised hunters whose sole job is to destroy mutated cells that could pose a danger. And within every cell, there are at least three types of gene that protect the cell from going wrong. To get a cancer, you need genetic changes within a cell that circumvent all three, and then the cell has to escape the marauding hunters.

   This of course poses the second question. Despite all this, people do get cancer. There is evidence that this was a rare event before the Industrial Revolution, and it has been increasing all the time. My latest figures are from 2001. In the USA, one man in two and one woman in three can expect to have a cancer develop during that person's lifetime.

   A cancer cell is weak when compared to the normal cells of the body. It is easily destroyed by the immune system. Of course, once the rogue growth has got away, cancer cells have the safety of numbers. Like a herd of grazers, the main bulk survives and breeds on, regardless of what predators can do.

   But it should never get that far. It does.

   I think the answer is threefold.

   First, we have increased the number of damaging impacts on our bodies. As I've said, it takes three or more insults to a cell before it might go wrong, and yet an average of 2500 cell divisions do so every day. This is due to the stuff in food we eat, water we drink, air we breathe. It is due to the medications we take, our protective measures against insects, mould and dirt. It is due to radiation from the nuclear industry, all the electrical appliances that surround us, the wonderful conveniences of civilisation.

   Many of these same influences have proven to have negative effects on the immune system. Not only do they initiate cancer, but also they handicap our ability to fight back.

   The third effect of civilisation is the most deadly. There is a demonstrated link between emotions and the immune system. This is studied by the 20-year-old science of psychoneuroimmunology. All too many people live lives they feel are meaningless. They are caught in a situation they find intolerable. Others are under sustained stress, year after year. People suffer chronic anxiety and depression. Families have fragmented so that our instinctive needs for belongingness are not met. All of this drags the immune system down. One of the many results is cancer.

   Let me give an almost trivial illustration of how the protective mechanisms of the body can be sabotaged. I haven't had the flu since I discovered the uses of guided imagery. At the first sign of a sore throat or a drippy nose, I meditate, and use a nice set of images that tickle up my immune system. The symptoms go within a few hours; 12 at the most.

   This year, I got persistent bronchitis. It didn't progress to anything worse, but it stayed with me for about 10 days, the same as it did for other people. How did this happen? Why did my magic tools fail to work?

• My wife caught the bug, so that I lived in a sea of flu viruses. No matter, they didn't affect me, because every night I went through my imagery exercises.
• However, I was right in the middle of something I find stressful: Christmas. This season, Christmas started in the first week of November, and went unremittingly through until the middle of January. My Christmasitis was far worse than in the usual year. I endured eating way too much of all the wrong kinds of food, missed out on my exercises, sat through hours of social obligations, felt frustrated at not being able to get on with my projects. Some of the socialising was enjoyable, even wonderful. I had fun with my granson Jarvis, and saw friends and relations I don't usually have the chance to spend time with. However, despite this, the overall experience was negative. I didn't realise at the time how much it dragged me down.
• Then I had a hard day's work, helping to get the hay in. I enjoyed it, but what I needed the day after was rest, and getting on with things I consider important. Instead, in order to do others a favour, I spent the whole day working outside, in the rain.

   The next day, I suffered sinusitis for the first time in maybe ten years, and then the cough came.

   A few weeks of Christmasitis dragged my immune system down. It sabotaged my defenses enough to allow physical stress to weaken me so that the infection struck. If I had the same kinds of emotional down for years at a time, if I didn't look after my physical fitness on a regular basis, I'd be a candidate for cancer.

On 'Borderline Personality Disorder'

by Cheryl O'Brien

   I was diagnosed some years ago with Borderline Personality Disorder. I knew nothing about what this diagnosis meant or what it applied to. I didn't have the courage to ask, mostly because I had no defence or way to respond to the general 'brush off' techniques used by many psychiatrists when you ask them questions about your own mental health. It is as if they presume you wouldn't understand or know enough to make it worth their while in explaining it.

   Not having any way to understand the diagnosis, I set it aside and went on about living my life the best way I knew how. Trying all the time not to think too hard on the topic of my sanity, and hoping that I could at least get my kids grown up before any outsider noticed my insanity and had them removed for their own good from this bogey-man of a woman who suffered from this condition.

   The other day I was studying character types in preparation for writing an article for my writers group about creating characters. The article is still in progress. During my reading I found a description of the Borderline Personality Disorder Type and at first reading I said. "Oh yeah that is me!" Now I know why I was diagnosed to be that. Then I found myself doing a double take as I read through it again and realised, "No! That was me! I am not like that now." Okay, so I still have some leftovers of it, but I am not true to type so to speak. Something has changed. I had begun to wonder what it all meant.

   Then I read your response to a Young Woman: "Anyway, you do not have BPD. It is not a thing or condition or disease. It is a LACK OF SKILLS."

   Then in the press release further along in the article I read, "Fear of abandonment, inappropriate rage, impulsiveness, chronic feelings of emptiness and boredom -- these are some of the symptoms of borderline personality disorder."

   Oh yeah! Now I remembered a counsellor telling me that in her opinion I did not have a disorder. I did not have a mental health issue. I was not sick. She had gone further to say that in her opinion my fear of abandonment was directly related to the many times I was actually abandonned in my childhood and often neglected. She said that my rage at the world was justified, I had suffered many things that had only one logical response, rage. My seeming impulsiveness was simply because so much was going on in my life at any one time that decisions had to be made quickly and actions responded to without too much thought. Then she said the feelings of emptiness and lack of worth I suffered from was because my time and energy was taken up by so many other things, i.e., my kids and their many health needs, and the 'large hole' I felt in the pit of my stomach is because of my eldest son's death. She finished by saying, the feelings you have are all logical, sensible and the same feelings that any other person in your position would have. I walked out of her office not knowing which of us was the craziest!

   After reading your response, I realised that while helping my son deal with his ADHD and lack of empathy, I had learned many things about social behaviours and had noticed that I related very well to my son and his lack of understanding about social boundaries because I had spent my life feeling like I was playing a game and no one would tell me the rules. I had even said as much on a few occasions. I asked a counsellor once, "How can I play the game of life if I don't know the rules?" While helping my son I started to discover the rules and had helped myself.

   For those who may feel similarly about the game of life, here are some 'tricks' my son and I figured out.

• When talking to others, if you can reach out and touch them with your hand you are probably standing inside their 'comfort zone'. This makes people feel uncomfortable. (This rule may be broken when talking with someone you are close to.)
   
• During a conversation, if you are thinking about what you are going to say next, you aren't listening, you aren't playing the conversation game fairly. When someone else is talking, you need to be actively listening. Active listening means you are listening to the other person and giving them your full attention and you ask appropriate questions at appropriate times.
   
• During conversations, if you use the words "I", "me", "my" more often than the other person, then you aren't playing the conversation game fairly. You can balance this out by using the words "You", "your", and 'their'.
   
• Other people are concerned with themselves as much as you are concerned with yourself.
   
• No one makes you feel anything. You are the boss of your feelings. Take charge of them and decide how you will feel.
   
• When people are mean to you, it is because of who they are, not because of who you are. This rule applies even if lots of people have been mean to you.
   
• Taking turns during any game is fair play. (Not everyone else will follow this rule, but you aren't everyone else! Play fair anyway.)
   
• You are always responsible for how you behave. You are responsible for your responses, reactions, and actions.
   
• You are not responsible for how others behave. This rule applies despite the fact others might try to make you feel like it is your fault that they decide to behave in certain ways.
   
• You are responsible for all of your words. You are responsible for which words you use, how you use them and the order in which you put them.
   
• You are not responsible for other people's words. You can not make anyone say anything, even if they insist you did.
   
• Having noted the above, it is necessary to say that words do have a certain amount of power in life and you should consider your choice of words carefully.
   
• Other people are sometimes wrong.
   
• You are sometimes wrong.
   
• No one knows all the rules of life.
   
• Do your best.
   
• Expect that not everyone else will do their best.
   
• Walking away from an argument is easier and less tiring than continuing it.

   The above is just some of the rules we figured out together, yet I fear I have taken up more than enough of your time so shall leave it there.

   Regular readers will be familiar with Cheryl and her wisdom. I am grateful to this wonderful lady for her openness, courage and caring. She is a perfect example of how you can choose to grow from suffering.

For Writers

The art of writing headlines
Through the wrong end of the telescope
Phrases that make the media love you

The art of writing headlines

by Andrew Pegler

Extracted from Write On, the newsletter of the Victorian Writer's Centre, September 2004, with the author's permission.

   Andrew's words of wisdom apply to all writing, not only to the field he has chosen. A few examples are the title of the book; chapter headings if you use them; that all-important first sentence. And then, you have query letters to agents or publishers, and the marketing to induce people to read the book.

   I'm the author of two books, The Bugle's Dictionary and John Howard's Little Book of Truths. I also publish The Bugle, a satirical cult magazine. Being an author in Australia doesn't pay too well, so I run a business as a freelance copywriter. Check out my copywriting CV here http://www.andrewpeglermedia.com.au/, just click on the copy writing link.

   The best way you can get into this line of work is to draw up a list of advertising agencies and call on them. Ask for freelance gigs. If you are invited for an interview, then take something with you that demonstrates your creative talent. This can be a portfolio of work. If you have no prior experience, then invent a product and write the campaign for it (i.e., a slogan and body copy for a brochure, a script for a radio commercial, and so on).

   Copywriting, while still very creative, is done within strict commercial guidelines based on market research. It requires the ability to write to express the benefits of a product or service to the marketplace. Keep that in mind and you will do okay.

   I want to reveal some hard-earned secrets about writing a slogan or advertising headline. Headlines are very important. On the average, five times more people read a headline than the body copy, so if you have not done some selling in your slogan, you are wasting your client's money.

   Before writing the headline or slogan, start with three questions:

a. Who is my customer?

b. What are the important features of my product?

c. And why would someone be bothered buying it?

   Here are some rules:

1. The headline must promise a benefit or reward.

2. It must be clear and concise, and cannot be more than five to eight words. More than that and it becomes a sentence. For example, 'Have some Jam Factory fun!' is good, but 'The Jam Factory is a fun place to visit see you there' is long and clumsy.

3. The headline must connect sensibly to the product.

4. Avoid negatives, i.e., instead of 'contains no preservatives,' write '100% preservative free.'

5. Ask yourself, does the headline arouse interest?

6. Keep it simple.

   Before you start scribbling, write the following four things on a bit of paper next to your computer. They are what your headline has to achieve.

a. It must scream, 'Oi you, LOOK AT ME!'

b. Attract your audience.

c. Express a complete message.

d. Draw the reader into the body copy.

   You might suddenly realise that you are lacking all-important inspiration. That happens to me all the time. Distract yourself with some other complex task. This takes your mind off the immediate problem, but also gets it whirring in the back of your head. Soon enough, possibilities will start presenting themselves and before you know it, you're off and running.

   Then I sit down and write maybe 20 headlines, then edit until I have fewer than 10 and send them off to the client. Clients like having a choice. All you have to do is to sit back and wait for feedback.

   To give him work or to just ask a question, you can email Andrew at andrew@andrewpeglermedi a.com.au

Through the wrong end of the telescope

   Here are two versions of the opening of a story. Choose the one that grabs your interest the better.

   "Leave me alone," she said, and the soft demand was a scream.

   Tony moved away to his side of the bed. Hurt, he muttered, "I just wanted to make up. What's the point of hanging on to resentments?"

   "Oh yeah?" First you spoil my day, and then you want all the marital services as well?"

   "No, it's not like that... It's just..." Defeated, he turned onto his side and did his best to settle for sleep.

   OK, now compare this to:

   Maryanne and Tony had been married for seven years, and had two children. Five year old Susie looked like her father, and Tony often thought this was unfortunate. He never understood why blonde, lovely Maryanne should ever have married him. Jimmy was two, and in the terrible stage of throwing tantrums, but the parents knew that patience and time should get through the problem.

   No, the trouble between them was not Jimmy's behavior, but that they had different styles of dealing with the difficulties that arise between any two people. Tony would blow up, get it out of his system, then be ready to get on with life. Maryanne needed to have an issue resolved, or as Tony often thought, dissected to death, and she could go at it for three days at a time.

   Are you yawning yet?

   The second version may be excellent psychological analysis. It contains a lot more information than the first. But does it get you INTO THE SKIN of the characters in the story?

   The fiction author's job is not to inform or lecture, but to allow the reader to construct a reality, and then, ideally, to move into it. People are very good at doing this imaginative exercise. What the author needs to supply is not a photograph, but a charcoal sketch. A skilled artist can draw a few firm lines, and what appears is a recognisable face with character, expression, movement. A skilled writer does the same with words.

   Vision can take in details simultaneously, so that a photograph is no worse than a cartoon. In writing, we have a sequential medium. The trouble with the verbal photograph is that the reader needs to wade through all that detail before appreciating the real message, which is, inevitably, emotion. So, it's essential to focus in on the few features that will induce emotion.

   This is done not by saying how a person feels, but by presenting words and actions that indicate it. The trick is to pick a witness, Tony in the example above, show his perceptions (hearing the scream in his wife's soft statement), and other people's observable behaviour. The background, the information that beginner writers are so anxious to present, is not only irrelevant but counterproductive. Everything essential is there, in the live story. What we need to know can be presented later, through action and dialogue.

   Tony's feelings of inferiority about his appearance may be essential to the story. In that case, there in the opening scene, you might have him say, "I know I'm ugly." Maryanne can respond, "You idiot, your face has nothing to do with it. I married you, didn't I? I just can't cuddle and be lovey-dovey when you come home two hours after you said, and my dinner is burned, and Jimmy spent the evening screaming the house down because he wants Daddy before going to bed, and..."

   But it's not necessary in the opening scene.

   The lesson is, don't present your characters from the outside, through the wrong end of a telescope. Show them from within, the way they think, feel and act. Focus on tricking me, the reader, into BEING the person in the story, not some godly outside viewer.

Phrases that make the media love you

by Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Show you really care:

You say:

• Do you have a moment now (and then take only a moment)?
• Do you have a list of topics or themes for the coming year?
• When is your deadline (and then have what they need to them early)?
• Would you like me to provide a head shot or book cover art?
• Do you prefer I put my material in the mail or send it electronically?
• Do you accept attachments or prefer an e-mail copy and paste?
• May I send my media kit to help you out?
• Would you like a list of possible questions for your interview? (This only works for web or radio interviewers, not reporters for print media.)

Help them out:

You suggest:

• I know others you might talk to on this topic.
• Do you need any other information for this story; maybe I can help.
• I am also available as an expert on (fill in the blank) if you should ever need me.

Four Ways to Ruin Good Vibrations

You blurt:

• May I read your piece before it is published?
• Why didn't you include the information I offered on (fill in the blank)? Any comment or suggestion other than correcting an error that is pertinent to the piece is not appropriate.
• Oh, sorry, I know I promised but….
• I can't make it, I have to wash my hair.

The Happiest Words of All:
1. The book launch is Tuesday. I'd love to have you come. (Your contact may not be able to make it but she is rarely asked!)
2. Thank you.

   Carolyn Howard-Johnson will be presenting more promotion tips at San Diego State University's Writers Conference Jan. 21, 22, 23. Her first novel, This is the Place, and her second book, Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered are both award-winners. Her fiction, nonfiction and poems have appeared in national magazines, anthologies and review journals. She is an instructor for UCLA Extension's Writers' Program and her next book, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T was named USA Book News' "Best Professional Book 2004.". She was recently awarded Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment by the California Legislature.

Announcements

Marilyn Peake
Shirley Cheng
Francine Silverman
Lindy Hudis
Connie Gotsch
Dorothy Thompson
Eva Kende
Joe Monks

Marilyn Peake

   Two fantasy adventure novels written for children, The Fisherman's Son and its sequel, The City of the Golden Sun, take place on a fictional island devastated by a tsunami. The island culture radically changes after a tsunami sinks The City of the Golden Sun to the bottom of the ocean. These books were written by author Marilyn Peake in order to show children how to heal emotional and spiritual pain by tapping into the positive aspects of life: wonder, beauty, loyalty, love, and so much more.

   In order to help the real world victims of the most recent devastating Tsunami, Marilyn Peake will donate $1 to UNICEF for each copy of her books purchased within the year 2005.

   For more information on where to purchase these books, in either paperback or electronic format, visit:
The Fisherman's Son -- http://www.double-dragon-ebooks.com/single.asp?ISBN=1-55404-133-3
The City of the Golden Sun -- http://www.double-dragon-ebooks.com/single.asp?ISBN=1-55404-198-8

Shirley Cheng

Dance With Your Heart: Tales and Poems That the Heart Tells
Paperback, ISBN 1-4116-1858-0

   Dance With Your Heart: Tales and Poems That the Heart Tells is filled with inspirations, lessons and magic. Be prepared to be touched, taught, and tickled by the stories and poems contained between the covers of Dance With Your Heart.

   In Dance With Your Heart, the reader will discover and visit new worlds. Inch alongside a tiny snail as she goes through a journey of self-discovery in The Gift of Uniqueness, and learn that cooperation is the key to working successfully in the story The Raging Sun and Rain. The poems, which range from thought-provoking to inspirational, could only have been written by Shirley Cheng. Her language is simple yet lyrical, and she writes with sincerity, clarity, and wisdom rare for her youth.

   Shirley was born in New York in 1983, and received no schooling until she was eleven. Having achieved grade level in all areas after only 180 days in a special education class, she was transferred to a regular sixth grade class. One of her stories, Mary Miller, the Elusive Lady, was published by Poughkeepsie Journal in 1997, and her poem, The Colors of the Rainbow, in the anthology Celebrate! New York's Young Poets Speak Out in 1999. Shirley lost her eyesight at the age of seventeen, and hopes to earn science doctorates from Harvard University after eye surgery.

Francine Silverman

   Francine Silverman, editor of the popular online Book Promotions Newsletter, will be publishing Book Marketing from A-Z with Infinity Publishing -- in late January or early February 2005. Fran has compiled the best marketing strategies of 300+ published authors who represent all genres and levels of expertise. Whether their books are self-published, print-on-demand, e-books, or published by a traditional house, these author/promoters share their experiences -- both good and bad -- in their own words.

   For a sample of their strategies, visit the newsletter archives at htttp://www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com.

Lindy S. Hudis

   Lindy S. Hudis is proud to announce that her novel, Weekends, will be available in February 2005 from Whiskey Creek Press. For details, please click here: http://directorbabe.tripod.com/

   An innocent-sounding family reunion at an exclusive California beach resort turns into a weekend of murder, deceit, exposed secrets and unexpected intimate encounters.

Connie Gotsch

   Set in New Mexico, in the beautiful Four Corners, Snap Me A Future, an electronic suspense/thriller by award-winning author, Connie Gotsch, was released by DLSIJ Press in October, 2004.

   Readers follow the adventures of Shelby McCoy, the once tough investigative reporter now working her way back into journalism after a horrific attack by the subject of one of her articles. While pursuing a story, she finds herself face-to-face with a knife-wielding criminal. Can she think fast enough to save herself and the man she loves from harm? Will another gun shatter life forever? Or will help come from an unexpected and non-human source?

   Snap Me a Future is Gotsch's second novel. Her first, A Mouth Full of Shell, won first place for full-length fiction in the 2002 New Mexico Press Women's Communication Contest, and second place in the 2002 National Federation of Press Women's Communication Contest.

   Gotsch lives in Farmington, New Mexico, where she serves as program director for public radio station KSJE-FM. Her show, "Roving with the Arts," has also won New Mexico and National Federation of Press Women Awards. She hosts a book show called "Write On Four Corners."

Dorothy Thompson

   Dorothy Thompson announces a new e-group that is rockin' the literary world! TWL Author Talks opens its doors on January 1, 2005 and sends an open invitation to anyone interested in talking to New York bestselling authors. As a member, you will get the opportunity to ask our distinguished guest authors questions about their literary successes so that you might learn how to become a success, too! Scheduled guests include Jennifer Crusie, Jenna McKnight, Karen Kay, Kay Hooper, Jennifer Blake, Roxanne St. Claire, Deborah LeBlanc and more pending. Each will come in on their designated week (which you will find in the calendar section of the main group page) and answer your questions. It will be a lot of fun and a great learning process! To sign up, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TWLAuthorTalks/. See you there!

Eva Kende

   Just in time to aid you in your New Year's Resolution to reduce grocery costs and improve nutrition in your daily life! Eva's Kitchen Confidence is now available in Wire-O bound paperback format. Get the paperback with the flick of your mouse or choose any ebook version for less money. Choose the .prc version to synchronize with that new Palm that Santa brought you and have this handy guide at your fingertips! This cookbook is a friend in your kitchen that understands your problems, sympathises and gives you the tools to success.

Book Information:
Paperback: 160 pages
Binding: Wire-O
ISBN: 1584952423
$14.20 USD
All versions can be ordered from http://www.diskuspublishing.com/ekco.html

   Eva Kende learned to cook at the age of thirteen and has been learning since. Feedback from readers of her bestselling cookbook, Eva's Hungarian Kitchen, convinced her that there is a large segment of the population that is intimidated by cooking from scratch. To help instil confidence into the timid and to pass on the secrets and confidences, she wrote Eva's Kitchen Confidence. Eva, a retired biochemist, lives in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, in the Rockies with her husband John. She divides her time between her family, travelling and writing.

   Joe Monks, writer and publisher of such titles as Zacherley's Midnite Terrors, Cry For Dawn and the upcoming zombie comic series Dead Meat, has launched a new web site, www.joemonks.com, focusing on his own work and, he expects, the launching pad that will put him in the director's chair.

   Monks, who lost his eyesight in 2002 but returned to comics later that year despite the handicap, recently had one of his short stories optioned for the screen by Bunkasha Publishing in tandem with DK Publishing, two Asian powerhouses. The featurette, for a Japanese television pilot, was recently released in North America on DVD as the first episode in the Flowers on the Razorwire film series, which couples short horror features with digest sized comic books. Monks was also tapped to write the screenplay, and has a cameo role in the wraparound sequence, a sort of Tales From The Crypt HBO introduction to the main story.

   With the launch of www.joemonks.com, however, the writer/publisher has set his sights--so to speak--on going behind the camera, to direct his latest screenplay, The Bunker, in which the teenage daughter of a U.S. Congressman is kidnapped and endures the countdown to her own murder, locked in an underground cell.

Ergonomics:

Speed Reading

   Wouldn't it be useful if you could read ten times faster than now?

   You can.

   What's more, research shows that a speed reader has BETTER comprehension of the contents of a tract of prose. This is different from 'skimming', which almost guarantees that you miss content.

   I do speed reading while I edit. And yet, I pick up every little typo, every comma out of place, every convoluted expression. Well, let's be honest. I can do this in YOUR text. I miss a few such glitches in my own writing.

   Speed reading works because people have the general ability to form 'chunks' of information when dealing with an overlearned skill. Think of driving a manual car. To change gears, you need to coordinate one foot on the clutch, the other on the accelerator, the hand doing a complicated little dance, all controlled by the ear listening for changes in engine tone, and the whole symphony of action in response to environmental triggers that continue to need monitoring. It is a very complex task.

   For the beginning driver, this is a major challenge. However, after practice, it becomes unitary. The coordination is well below the level of consciousness. Indeed, if you try to pay attention to the elements, the skill is disrupted. Try it, but not on a busy road.

   Speed reading is the result of the same kind of overlearning. Training the skill is tedious, but the results are useful. You can pay money and go to a speed reading course, but this is unnecessary. I am sure there are also simple computer programs you can find on the internet.

   But you can do it with nothing more complicated than a wooden ruler. That's what I did in the 1960s. Lay the ruler at the top of a page of writing, and move it slowly down so that it covers one line at a time. Adjust the speed of lowering it so that you are under a slight bit of pressure to finish the line before it's hidden from view.

   And that's all. Over time, with regular practice, you'll find that you need to move the ruler faster and faster in order to keep up with your increased reading speed. And your ability to notice the details of writing, to take in the content, will improve.

   Are there any disdavantages? There is one. When I read for pleasure, I like to take my time, to allow the story to capture me and take me somewhere. If it gets exciting, sometimes I switch to speed reading mode without even realising it, and what should have been half a day's switch-off is gone in half an hour.

   Usually, though, I remember to read normally when I want to enjoy myself... at least at the start of the book.

A film review from John Gorman

'The Take'

   John reviewed a film in the last issue. Here he is again, with a film that makes me want to stand up and cheer.

   The Take, released in September, is one of several political documentaries coming to theaters this fall. This film, however, goes much further than most in providing alternatives to globalization and the Race to the Bottom, which corporate capitalism insists is the only viable path to the future of this planet. Indeed, what started author Naomi Klein on this quest for an alternative to this gloomy scenario was a question from a globalizer who argued, "We know what you're against. But just what are you for?"

   Ironically enough, as we discover from this movie, it is Argentina, once the "poster child" for the International Monetary Fund and globalization that is providing at least the outlines of an answer to that question. Argentina, as the film explains, is not a poor country that was made poorer by privatization and IMF demands for reductions in already inadequate government services as a condition for loans. It is a rich country that has become poor thanks to these measures.

   As the Argentine economy melted down in 2001, and the country defaulted on its foreign debt, thousands of businesses closed, leaving literally millions of workers in the street, reduced from the middle class to a proletariat almost overnight. Revolution was in the air, as individuals were cut off from their bank accounts, while millions of dollars left the country. One government after another fell, as angry crowds demanded, "Que se vayan todos!" ("Send them all packing!") Many workers, however, were not impressed by these marches and began to think in more concrete terms, occupying closed factories, first to prevent the owners from selling off the machinery and then to put them back into production.

   As the film shows, these efforts are not easy, and the Argentine courts have not been helpful, looking on private property as a sacred right. Nonetheless, the machines are started and production of things like auto parts, tiles and clothing resumes under the motto, "Occupy, resist, produce." What these workers have understood is the need, not only to seize the means of production, as in the sit down strikes of the 1930s, but to take over the production itself, or, in IWW terms, "Fire the boss" as well. As quickly becomes clear, the workers are in no need of managerial advice or entrepreneurial direction. They already know how to make the product, and whatever skills they need to market it are quickly learned as they cooperate with one another. In the meantime, interviews with the ceramics factory owner show us the face of the enemy, as a positively vampiric-looking capitalist assures us the government will get his ceramics factory back for him and restore his wealth and power.

   The workers, for their part, care little about ideology. They simply want to work, live with dignity and support their families in decency. While the capitalists scheme to get back their plants, the workers drill with slingshots to repel anticipated police assaults. On the face of it, these preparations seem ridiculous, but the main weapon in the workers' arsenal is not their slingshots but their solidarity and the implied threat of general strike and even civil war, if the government insists on bringing back "the Good Old Days" of capitalism.

   It would be pleasant to end this review with a report of worker triumph. As we learn from the film, however, the issue remains very much in doubt, as the government vacillates, the IMF fumes, and the workers dig in. What we can take away from The Take, however, is a conviction that there is another way of doing things, not worked out in every detail, but real enough to give every capitalist indigestion, if not nightmares. We see that ordinary workers are able to act effectively in defense of their own interests, to rely upon themselves instead of on political bosses or even labor leaders, as they stand up in dignity and strength when those interests are threatened.

Silverdawn by Julie D'Arcy

Reviewed by Kelley A. Hartsell

Published by Mundania Press
Paperback ISBN 1-59426-021-4 $Au12.00
E-book ISBN 1-59426-072-9 $Au6.00

   Julie D'Arcy has created a world of magick with Silverdawn that encompasses so much that readers are sure to be pleased with this story. She combines many different facets of paranormal romance into her story so that there is something for everyone, be they fans of romance, fantasy, time-travel, or adventure. The plot is well thought out, driving forward with strength from the opening lines, never losing steam through the final climactic battle of good vs. evil.

   Silverdawn is a complex individual who only wishes to live out the life she has always known. When she is suddenly faced with mythical beings like griffins and horrific monsters like undead zombies, though in shock at the change, she handles it all surprisingly well for one who has ever believed there was no such thing as magick. She is more shocked then anyone to find out she is the only one who can save both worlds from destruction.

   Faren has only one goal in life, to please his king and fulfil the missions given to him to uphold their world's ways. He is a strong warrior, well trained in the art of war, but still gentle enough to be the shoulder to cry on for his own damsel in distress. His duty surpasses all for him so when he falls in love with Silverdawn, he must choose what is most important, his duty or his love.

   The rest of the cast of characters is well done also, from the aging mage Pendragon, to Iraj the evil sorcerer, to Kalden, Faren's foster brother, and a number of other key players. There are also a couple shockers of plot twists involving some of these people that come into play in the story. This is a delightful story that is a fast, exciting read one will hate to put down even for a minute. Readers will eagerly await more vivid tales from the mind of Ms. D'Arcy.

A Man Without a Country

by James Choron

   Jim is a regular contributor. He sent me a very interesting article, but alas, at nearly 3000 words, it was way too long. Here is an extract.

    ...Then, there were people like Kim Philby… The man who "sold" the atomic bomb… We were as close as he ever got to anyone, just before he died. Old Philby was nothing like the way he was shown to us in the West. I never liked Philby much. No one did. Even if he hadn't been who and what he was, he just had that kind of cold, distant personality. Even in his "normal" life, if he ever had one, he must have lived in an "ivory tower". Still, he was a traitor, but he wasn't a monster. Maybe writing about what he was like will do some good.

   He was a strange old bird. You could see it in his eyes. And yet, from his perspective, what he said made a lot of sense. He was an idealist. He didn't see "governments" or "politics". He saw the human race as a whole, and he saw the world of "science", not "government", as being custodians of the "welfare of the species".

   He always said that the reason he did it was to "insure balance". He was afraid of his own country's strength, and didn't trust America's leadership. He said that Truman was a good man, and he respected Eisenhower… but no one could know what might come next, and if only one nation had the bomb, then they could dictate terms to everyone else in the world. He'd seen Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and they terrified him, just like they did every other scientist who worked on the bombs. He'd seen the Hydrogen bomb tests, and they'd terrified him even more. He sure as Hell didn't want any one country or ideological system to rule the world. That, he said, was why he did what he did.

   In any case, when the Cold War broke out, right after the Hot one, Philby decided that it was just too dangerous for only one side to have something as devastating as the bomb, and started funnelling information to the Soviet Union. There were several others who did, people like Hiss and Chambers and the Rosenbergs. Most of them did it for money, or for political reasons. I think Philby was telling the truth. I don't think he did it because of any of that. He did it out of fear.

   He knew that the Soviet Union was the only country powerful and stable enough in the post-war environment to be trusted with that much power alongside any Western government. He said that none of them could really be trusted with it, but China was in the middle of too much upheaval, Germany and Japan were in ruins, and, besides, he had just helped fight a war against them. He just plain hated the French. He figured that the "Yanks" would never start a war with the Soviet Union, and vice-versa, if both had the bomb, and because Europe was "in the middle", they'd help keep the lid on. Once the genie was out of the lamp, a balance of power had to evolve.

   I think he was right. Can you imagine if Nixon alone had had the bomb… or if Mao had gotten hold of it before he did? The Soviet Union would have looked like the surface of the moon, and the fallout would have made Europe a radioactive wasteland. What if McCarthy had been nominated for President in 1952, and won? They really didn't know very much about the after effects of the bomb, then. Most of Europe, let alone Russia, would have become an uninhabitable wasteland, for generations to come. Ever seen an old movie called "On the Beach"? It's a scary thought.

   I'm not going to try and justify Philby, or what he did. You can't justify Philby -- he was a traitor. Still, I always felt sorry for him. He wasn't like the others in that rat nest. He didn't expect or get anything out of what he did. The only thing he managed to do was live, and to stay out of prison. The way I saw it, his life became his prison. His "exile" weighed down on him pretty heavily, I think. Toward the end, he was a little crazy. He sounded rational enough, but at times… well, it was scary. He'd get this glazed look in his eyes and go off on topics that had nothing to do with the conversation… things from the past… fifty years ago, and more, even at the time. And… if he knew you well, he spent a lot of time trying to "justify" what he did. He really didn't care what the public thought of him, but he seemed to want what few friends he had to know that he didn't' "sell out" to hurt anyone, but to save lives. I think that when death finally came for him, it came as a relief.

Valentine Day contest

   Bookswelove.net/ always seems to have a free contest going. The current 'Valentine Day' contest has lots of excellent paperback and electronic books for prizes. And while you go about gathering information, you can find out about high quality books that are well worth reading. After all, my titles are among them :).

Oriental Palmistry

by Myrna Lou Goldbaum

   In Oriental Palmistry the definition of a soul mate is one who bonds with another and is familiar with them. They are from another time zone when they lived on this planet and were someone other than who they are today, thus reincarnation. Example: in another lifetime, over 100 years ago a person might have been an Indian man. In this time zone that person is a young girl. Or, in another time zone the person was someone's old maid aunt but this time he is a strong male in his seventies, or a three year old little boy.

   A soul mate, according to Oriental Palmistry has five levels.

1. Communication
2. Visible Appearance
3. Spirituality
4. Sensual relationship
5. Similar religious belief system

   Beyond these five levels one must also touch on the terms of: Trust, Love, Honor, Respect, Affection and Spontaneity. These are not the only characteristics one must have in common to relate to a soul mate. Also present must be their reactions, likes and dislikes, same philosophy about life in general, ambitions and dreams. A twin flame is a term used to describe one candle across from another twinkling at the same time and to the same degree of intensity. Another common term used is mirror image. This is the outlook one has the same as their soul mate. Because of our past lives, individuals bring to this time span on earth their ways of thinking, being creative and working through life's ups and downs from the past experiences they had when they resided here before.

   A soul mate cannot find another unless they too have a past life when they were connected on several levels in that other lifetime.

   Myrna is a Palmist, Psychic, Author; the Soul Mate Specialist. 55 years experience, 32,600 documented palms with a 90-95% accuracy. In life one must find the path to follow in love work and play. I facilitate by guiding one's direction and listening.

   Although I have printed what Myrna sent me, I must say I don't believe it. I can't see that the lines on my palm have anything to do with any other aspect of my existence, and I certainly don't believe in 'soul mates'.

   What do you think? Responses welcome.

Thank You

   I circulate this e-zine through the kindness of Linda Eberharter, publisher at Atlantic Bridge . They publish many excellent books, some of them edited by me. Several have done well in recent contests. Do have a look.

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