tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44826205159265153382024-03-14T01:55:20.929-03:00Martas's cornerAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172214186654295397noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482620515926515338.post-55255524421651025832014-05-27T14:33:00.002-03:002014-05-27T14:33:44.563-03:00<div style="text-align: center;">
BOB VAN LAERHOVEN IN "MEET MY MAIN CHARACTER IN A WIP" BLOG HOP TOUR</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">1)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><u></u><span lang="EN-US">The name of my main character is Michel Denis - the man with two forenames as he is called. Denis is a front physician in 1916 in France and has recently suffered an amputation of his right arm as a result of a shrapnel blast. Before the war started, he was a psychiatrist in training. At the front he will be confronted with a very peculiar case of shellshock, an affliction of the mind caused by the terrible pressure of the war that in those times was not recognized. The military brass was of the opinion that soldiers suffering from shellshock were in reality cowards who faked a mental distortion. Often, they were court-martialed and shot by a firing squad.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<u></u><span lang="EN-US">2)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><u></u><span lang="EN-US">The story is set in 1916 in the Argonne, a northern part of France, during WW1, but also in 1875 in Saint Maclou, in 1889 during the opening of the first World Fair in Paris, in 1894 in Vienna (with dr. Breuer, Freud’s teacher, in a leading role) and in 1911 in Paris.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<u></u><span lang="EN-US">3)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><u></u><span lang="EN-US">Michel Denis, in spite of the rigid military distinction between ranks of that time secretly in love with the front-nurse Marie Estrange, will learn in the mental institute of Bron ( a community in the vicinity of the French city Lyon), where he completes his psychiatric training since he’s no longer valuable at the front after missing one arm, that the human mind is capable to produce the most wondrous delusions. Denis can’t avoid asking himself difficult questions: what, precisely, is a delusion? Who can tell with certainty what’s real and what’s not. When does reality change into delusion, why and how?<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<u></u><span lang="EN-US">4)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><u></u><span lang="EN-US">The main conflict in “The Shadow of the Mole” is the difference between the “outer world” – in this case an extremely dangerous reality because of the war – and the “inner world”, in this case a mysterious power which seems to have predictive qualities. Hidden underneath is a family drama that is the source of all the distortions of reality in the novel.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<u></u><span lang="EN-US">5)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><u></u><span lang="EN-US">To understand the human mind in all its complexity and, in a way, its infinitude in creating worlds within worlds within worlds, personae within personae within personae.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<u></u><span lang="EN-US">6)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><u></u><span lang="EN-US">The working title is “The Shadow of the Mole”. I have just written the first draft and such a draft is definitely not for the eyes of the readers </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span lang="EN-US">. I produce at least three drafts before I send a manuscript to an editor.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<u></u><span lang="EN-US">7)<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><u></u><span lang="EN-US">After having published “Baudelaire’s Revenge” in the USA, Pegasus Books has an option on the following novel, in this case “The Shadow of the Mole”. I hope to present the manuscript in September/October of this year and, if accepted, the novel would then be published in 2015<span style="color: #1f497d;">, I suppose</span>.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In the mean time, I can tag mr. Jessup whose novel I’m currently reading: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-the-Cascade-ebook/dp/B00DDZ6M3S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1371245505&sr=8-2&keywords=A.+H.+Jessup" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-<wbr></wbr>the-Cascade-ebook/dp/<wbr></wbr>B00DDZ6M3S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&<wbr></wbr>qid=1371245505&sr=8-2&<wbr></wbr>keywords=A.+H.+Jessup</a><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172214186654295397noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482620515926515338.post-68198317941076159022013-05-09T21:31:00.003-03:002013-05-09T21:31:34.664-03:00WHAT LIES BEHIND "JUST TOSS THE ASHES"
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<strong>OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND<o:p></o:p></strong></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
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The issue of suicide tends to be relegated to psychiatric
publications, films, and fiction. Interestingly enough, it has recently
attracted the interest of statisticians. Still, there does not seem to be full awareness
that it involves real people, and that neither those who are grappling with the
idea nor those who have put it into practice are insane. The only undeniable
truth is that they suffer. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do realize how disturbing it may be to
think of suicide as yet another fact of life. Ever since our species was
Judeo-christianized, even those of us who have embraced agnosticism keep a
salutary? dread of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>death. Call it what
you will: the unpalatable thought that the end is definitive, the grief of our
beloved ones, the feeling that it cannot be that easy to just let go. If<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>this is what we experience when confronted
with ‘natural’ death, the notion of becoming our own executioners is beyond
endurance. Thus we segregate suicides and potential suicides to the pages of
the DSM IV and move on without further consideration, as it would really be in
bad taste to bring up the subject in the course of a conversation, don’t you
think?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1940, Albert Camus, one of the most lucid
thinkers of the times, reflected upon suicide in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Myth of Sisyphus</i>, although this was not the central point he
intended to address. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">According
to Camus, suicide is the only serious philosophical problem, one that is
inextricably attached to the question about whether life is worth living. All
other questions take second place. Apparently, since many people die because
they do not believe that life is worth living, while others get themselves
killed for the opposite reason, it would seem as if a good reason for living
might be an equally good reason for dying. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In his view, the most obvious causes of
suicide are not necessarily the most powerful ones, and it is practically
impossible to determine what triggers the decision. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Taking the argument one step forward,
perhaps it would be best to define ‘life’. Apart from the obvious biological
implications, we humans make extraordinary efforts at keeping some kind of
balance between external circumstances and our inner world. The everyday events
outside find their way into our psyche, and are sometimes blown out of
proportion by the unconscious areas of the apparatus. The ways in which we perceive
the world are necessarily subjective, modify our perception of ourselves in the
world, and may lead us to conclude that life –such as we perceive it –is not
worth living.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two popular theories have preyed on the
minds of the non-suicides or anti-suicides. One is that, unable to direct her
rage and/or frustration to the one/ones whom she blames for her despair, she
turns to suicide as a means to ‘punish’ the would-be culprits, anticipating
their regret for wrongs real or imaginary, and haunting them for the rest of
their lives. This punitive analysis in fact relieves those ‘others’ of whatever
guilty feelings, as they usually deny the list of wrongs attributed to them.
And they are right. Even if they have actively contributed to the suicide’s
unhappiness, a different process by another apparatus would have led to another
decision.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second theory dubs the suicide an
egoist. She should go through hell on earth to spare others distress. One could
wonder on whose side egoism lies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then there is the ‘bravery v. cowardice’
version. Some non-suicides acknowledge that bravery is indeed needed to take
the leap into death, while others insist that anyone who opts for the ‘easy
way’ (!!) is shunning the daily struggle they themselves fearlessly engage in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All in all, everyone passes judgment, but
few make the effort to understand, though paradoxically enough, the whys keep going
on<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>forever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having said this much, perhaps I should warn
the reader that I am not advocating suicide, but simply defending free will as
well as trying to convey the notion that suicide is not taken lightly by the
victim-executioner, nor is it carried out on an impulse. It takes an
unimaginable accumulation of suffering over time, and a slow but steady
disattachment from all things dear. Make no mistake about it: a suicide has not
been drained of love, but she cannot bear the burden of life such as it is
processed in her inner self. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can suicides be stopped? Sometimes. Yet
before the resolve is made, they tend to go through phases of depression and
despair that those around them are not willing or ready to live. They have
their own problems to attend to. One day, they are greatly relieved to find
that the one who has been oozing bitterness and expressing a death wish in word
and action has ‘calmed down’. The phase is over, they think. It is, for sure.
The inner struggle in the devastated battlefield of the mind is over, because
the decision has been made. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So much
for suicide that is clearly read as such</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172214186654295397noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482620515926515338.post-8310968174645412302013-05-09T21:27:00.001-03:002013-05-09T21:27:46.414-03:00ON SUICIDE
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<div class="MsoTitle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<strong>OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND<o:p></o:p></strong></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
The issue of suicide tends to be relegated to psychiatric
publications, films, and fiction. Interestingly enough, it has recently
attracted the interest of statisticians. Still, there does not seem to be full awareness
that it involves real people, and that neither those who are grappling with the
idea nor those who have put it into practice are insane. The only undeniable
truth is that they suffer. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do realize how disturbing it may be to
think of suicide as yet another fact of life. Ever since our species was
Judeo-christianized, even those of us who have embraced agnosticism keep a
salutary? dread of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>death. Call it what
you will: the unpalatable thought that the end is definitive, the grief of our
beloved ones, the feeling that it cannot be that easy to just let go. If<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>this is what we experience when confronted
with ‘natural’ death, the notion of becoming our own executioners is beyond
endurance. Thus we segregate suicides and potential suicides to the pages of
the DSM IV and move on without further consideration, as it would really be in
bad taste to bring up the subject in the course of a conversation, don’t you
think?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1940, Albert Camus, one of the most lucid
thinkers of the times, reflected upon suicide in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Myth of Sisyphus</i>, although this was not the central point he
intended to address. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">According
to Camus, suicide is the only serious philosophical problem, one that is
inextricably attached to the question about whether life is worth living. All
other questions take second place. Apparently, since many people die because
they do not believe that life is worth living, while others get themselves
killed for the opposite reason, it would seem as if a good reason for living
might be an equally good reason for dying. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In his view, the most obvious causes of
suicide are not necessarily the most powerful ones, and it is practically
impossible to determine what triggers the decision. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Taking the argument one step forward,
perhaps it would be best to define ‘life’. Apart from the obvious biological
implications, we humans make extraordinary efforts at keeping some kind of
balance between external circumstances and our inner world. The everyday events
outside find their way into our psyche, and are sometimes blown out of
proportion by the unconscious areas of the apparatus. The ways in which we perceive
the world are necessarily subjective, modify our perception of ourselves in the
world, and may lead us to conclude that life –such as we perceive it –is not
worth living.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two popular theories have preyed on the
minds of the non-suicides or anti-suicides. One is that, unable to direct her
rage and/or frustration to the one/ones whom she blames for her despair, she
turns to suicide as a means to ‘punish’ the would-be culprits, anticipating
their regret for wrongs real or imaginary, and haunting them for the rest of
their lives. This punitive analysis in fact relieves those ‘others’ of whatever
guilty feelings, as they usually deny the list of wrongs attributed to them.
And they are right. Even if they have actively contributed to the suicide’s
unhappiness, a different process by another apparatus would have led to another
decision.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second theory dubs the suicide an
egoist. She should go through hell on earth to spare others distress. One could
wonder on whose side egoism lies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then there is the ‘bravery v. cowardice’
version. Some non-suicides acknowledge that bravery is indeed needed to take
the leap into death, while others insist that anyone who opts for the ‘easy
way’ (!!) is shunning the daily struggle they themselves fearlessly engage in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All in all, everyone passes judgment, but
few make the effort to understand, though paradoxically enough, the whys keep going
on<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>forever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having said this much, perhaps I should warn
the reader that I am not advocating suicide, but simply defending free will as
well as trying to convey the notion that suicide is not taken lightly by the
victim-executioner, nor is it carried out on an impulse. It takes an
unimaginable accumulation of suffering over time, and a slow but steady
disattachment from all things dear. Make no mistake about it: a suicide has not
been drained of love, but she cannot bear the burden of life such as it is
processed in her inner self. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can suicides be stopped? Sometimes. Yet
before the resolve is made, they tend to go through phases of depression and
despair that those around them are not willing or ready to live. They have
their own problems to attend to. One day, they are greatly relieved to find
that the one who has been oozing bitterness and expressing a death wish in word
and action has ‘calmed down’. The phase is over, they think. It is, for sure.
The inner struggle in the devastated battlefield of the mind is over, because
the decision has been made. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So much
for suicide that is clearly read as such</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172214186654295397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482620515926515338.post-48966431211795642032013-03-31T23:22:00.001-03:002013-03-31T23:22:34.193-03:00EXCERPTS FROM "LIVING WITH STRESS" CHAPTER 3<br />
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Feelings of bereavement weigh heavily upon us. They are not necessarily associated with the death of a beloved one, but to loss in general. <br />
<br />
<br />
The hasty pace of modern society seems to demand that we go through the paces of the appropriate rituals and "move on." I think this is a mistake. We need time to grieve. [...]<br />
<br />
<br />
The outcomes of masking our grief and/or denying ourselves the time to come to terms with our losses may go from reinforcement of an idealized image to a state of pathological mourning that becomes chronic and tinges everything we do. <br />
<br />
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How much stress will seep into your life depends entirely on your perception of a given situation. An optimistic view of the future and a proactive attitude in the present keeps stress at bay, with occasional peaks in the face of very concrete problems that take time to be worked out. <br />
Conversely, a pessimistic view and the feeling that this is the end of the world (of <strong>YOUR </strong>world) will numb your intelligence and you will achieve a self-fulfilled prophecy.<br />
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[...] Some parents would fulfill their own frustrated expectations vicariously by turning their children into what they failed to become. If they succeed, it is the child who will have to worry about stress.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172214186654295397noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482620515926515338.post-15350207283873212332013-03-17T01:29:00.001-03:002013-03-17T01:29:21.852-03:00EXCERPTS FROM "LIVING WITH STRESS" CHAPTER 2Our personality [...] is an interplay of forces [...]<br />
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We tend to be blind to rather obvious contradictions within ourselves. [...] We would actually prefer to picture ourselves as a "whole" individual, free of fissures, rather than as a fragmented or compartmentalized creature.<br />
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Depending on our personality type, we create an artificial harmony that collapses at the first gust of wind.<br />
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[...] Attempts at coping fight back. They generate diverse fears, deplete our energy, and fill us with hopelessness, until we find ourselves entangled in a cobweb leading to further stress.<br />
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We enter into commitments and get involved in contradictions that generate stress without our becoming wiser to its sources. <br />
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Keep asking yourself, WHAT DO I REALLY WANT? WHY? The "why" is not a minor matter. By pulling at the loose end of the thread of "why's" you may discover that you got the answer to the first question wrong.<br />
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Unless trained otherwise, we respond to stress on the basis of what our personality dictates. While other issues in our lives become tinged by [...], when it comes to stress, our personality traits sit at the wheel.<br />
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<em>Personality types and the ways in which each of them addresses exogenously induced stress can be found in this chapter.</em>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172214186654295397noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482620515926515338.post-13589856109826657592013-03-05T16:45:00.000-03:002013-03-05T16:45:06.230-03:00EXCERPTS FROM "LIVING WITH STRESS" CHAPTER 1Stress is the cluster of negative consequences resulting from the ill use of our evolutionary design.<br />
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[...] more often than not there is no correspondence between external reality and the inner experience of reality.<br />
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Perception is more than meets the eye.<br />
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The percipient subject is not a clean slate. Through past experiences and learning, she has constructed a view of the world. [...] Previous knowledge creates certain expectations or assumptions that will lead to one particular interpretation of the world. <br />
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Have you ever wondered who you really are? [...] You are not your name. <br />
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[...] you may be thinking that you're wasting your time, for what you actually want to know is how to get rid of your stress. The point is that stress is not a virus that you catch from the air. Stress is directly and specifically related to a subject, so unless you are willing to do some research into your own subjectivity and into the ways you perceive yourself and the world around you, nothing will help.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172214186654295397noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482620515926515338.post-88761291501990349592013-02-26T01:24:00.000-03:002013-02-26T01:25:46.553-03:00EXCERPTS FROM LIVING WITH STRESSINTRODUCTION<br />
<br />
[...] you do not experience the world first-hand. Moreover, you are dealing with the outer world and your own inner world at one and the same time, both of them mediated by your perception.<br />
In other words, nothing is what it seems. <br />
<br />
<br />
[...] do not take this as a promise or a lure. I know nothing about you nor, for that matter, does anyone else. You are the one who knows everything about you, even when a large part of what you know may be unconscious. <br />
<br />
<br />
[...] Your map is always "work in progress," for you collect and add new information by the minute. The good news is that you have already secured the basic patterns. You just need to learn how to read the signs, old and new. <br />
<br />
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I offer you the clues. Still, remember you are unique, and so are your map, your life, and your ties with the world. <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172214186654295397noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482620515926515338.post-65745084016270964182013-02-25T22:54:00.000-03:002013-02-25T22:54:06.561-03:00LIVING WITH STRESSContrary to what you may think, you do not experience the world first-hand. Moreover, you are dealing with the outer world and your own inner world at one and the same time, both of them mediated by your perception.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172214186654295397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482620515926515338.post-84933861231580771912013-02-18T01:30:00.000-03:002013-02-18T01:30:17.971-03:00JESSICA KNAUSS: A TRANSLATOR'S VOICE<br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: small/normal arial; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: small/normal arial; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Jessica Knauss’s translation of Lidia Falcón’s <i>Camino sin retorno</i> -- t</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: large;">he harrowing tale of the Spanish transition to democracy from the pen of Spain’s leading feminist -- </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: large;">has just been released by Loose Leaves Publishing.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5Dy065AHxBOT_z_YbYLQvWPB3p5lkIEms66ckyIISoDlsTbxi6I1vf1Y4spVSQ6kym9p5LX2Z8atdBO85xuDv5rrM17AGm2C_xQVnp1yB4Uo3HuKy8ne0s8kaMzEASl5Czv2kEcZVtI/s1600/Author+Photo.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5Dy065AHxBOT_z_YbYLQvWPB3p5lkIEms66ckyIISoDlsTbxi6I1vf1Y4spVSQ6kym9p5LX2Z8atdBO85xuDv5rrM17AGm2C_xQVnp1yB4Uo3HuKy8ne0s8kaMzEASl5Czv2kEcZVtI/s200/Author+Photo.JPG" width="195" /></a></div>
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Jessica Knauss</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Jessica grew up in Northern California and began studying Spanish as soon as she could. She translates amazing stories she could never have written herself because they come from authors from different parts of the world who live in completely different conditions. She loves to bring these stories into English, where they can find the wide audience they richly deserve. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: large;">Jessica graduated from the University of Iowa with an MFA in literary translation. </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">She blogs at </span><a href="http://jessicaknauss.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";" target="_blank">jessicaknauss.blogspot.com</a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <wbr></wbr>and would be happy to send you free </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">No Turning Back</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> bookmarks!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Q:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> A standard question to ask an author is “When did you begin writing?” In this case, perhaps you could talk about what first interested you in translation.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">A:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> My experience has been that most Americans never learn any language beyond English. When I began to read stories in Spanish, I was disappointed that I couldn’t share them with everyone I knew. It became apparent that the easiest way for people from different cultures to get to know each other was through translation. It was a major advantage to translate into English, which is now the most international language.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Q:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Is translation easy?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">A:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> No. Although it’s easier for me than teaching foreign languages, translation has turned out not to be the simple transference of meaning from one set of sounds or writing to another. The main problem is that “meaning” is so contextual and subjective. We hardly ever realize it, but when we speak our mother tongue, each word carries with it centuries of history and connotation, and I’ve yet to find a single word that can transmit exactly the same load of meaning in another language as the original concept does.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Q:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> How did you find <i>Camino sin retorno</i>? Were there any special issues with its translation?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">A:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> I now feel as if I’ve known the works of Lidia Falcón my entire life. But I came across her work randomly in the stacks at the University of Iowa library. As soon as I picked up <i>Camino sin retorno</i>, I knew it should be translated. It’s an incredibly important book. It was the first to really speak out about prison conditions during the Franco dictatorship and the first to openly criticize the leftist groups who resisted Franco because of their machismo and lack of respect for women’s contributions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">It was a difficult book to put into English for many reasons. First, I had to learn about the political context in Spain before I was born, and then I had to sympathize with the characters enough to figure out what kind of voice to give each of them in English. Also, the book is kind of experimental because it’s told from the point of view of Elisa. She has PTSD from her time in prison. Perhaps Falcón chose to tell the story from such a point of view because she suspects that everyone who lived under the dictatorship suffers from some kind of shock. Elisa’s thoughts and emotions are jumbled and erratic. In the end, I’ve added some clues so the reader in English can keep better track of what’s going on. By the end of the book, it makes so much sense, there doesn’t seem to be any other way it could have been written. I hope readers will love it as much as I do! Because as well as dealing with these important issues, <i>No Turning Back</i> is full of memorable characters.</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172214186654295397noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482620515926515338.post-84129825049975214732013-01-26T17:49:00.001-03:002013-01-26T17:49:28.853-03:00A SEQUEL TO ANA RUBIO'S ARTICLE: PAT GARCÏA ON GENOCIDE <br />
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<cite class="user"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/04204650731843984192" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: #888888;">Pat
Garcia</span></a></cite><span class="icon user"></span><span class="datetime secondary-text"><a href="http://martamerajvercorner.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-wonderful-reflection-by-ana-rubio.html?showComment=1356711527476#c4393819187573392317" rel="nofollow"><span style="color: #888888;">28 de diciembre de 2012 08:18</span></a></span></div>
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Hi,<br /><br />Thank you for your thoughts. As
I read them, I thought through my own position on this matter, and I sincerely
hope you do not mind me espousing on a little of it with you. I, too, hope that
we never forget what happen 67 years ago to humanity. People were murdered
because of their nationality, the length of their noses or the color of their
skin. However, I believe we have, because that is still happening today.
<br /><br />We see genocide taking place all over the world, and why aren't we
crying out? Why aren't we saying enough is enough? I believe it is because we
have taken on too much responsibilty. We have taken controlled thinking that man
can make everything better, but can we? Have we? I don't think so. <br /><br />The
evil within us demand that we make a decision between what is evil/evil and what
is evil/good. The evil/evil says that it is wrong to wipe out a nation of
people, but the evil/good in us say it is alright to kill a fetus that is not
yet three months old. The failure of taking too much responsibility result in us
thinking that we can control everything around and about us. When it doesn't
turn out as we would like, we simply get rid of it. <br /><br />It is my belief that
true responsibility can only be taken when we change the way we think. It is out
of our hearts that evils like murder, hatred, prejudice, jealousy and all the
other evils receive life and play themselves out in our lives. They become a
part of our mind, and what we think, is what we do, and what we act out. That is
what happened 67 years ago, and that is what is still happening today.
<br /><br />Living here in Germany, I can honestly say that the majority of the
German people and that includes the younger generations still have a problem
acknowledging their part in the massacre of millions of people. Many still hide
under the blanket of 'We didn't know' or 'I didn't do anything. I wasn't born at
that time.' It is sad, but it is so. <br /><br />So in my opinion a part, or a small
part of the solution lies in our recognition of the fact that the evil can only
be conquered when we realize that we were born with the evil inside of us and
that evil must be cleansed. We then began to renew our minds and began to
understand that we were born as a family, regardless of what nationality or skin
color we have. <br /><br />When we realize that humanity itself is one race and that
when we hurt another member of humanity then the evil in us has taken over, we
can then accept responsibility for our own actions , and unlike Cain, we will
not run away and hide, and reply as he did when God asked him where is Abel, "Am
I my brother's keeper?"<br /><br />I hope I make sense with my thoughts. Thank you
for providing me with an opportunity to think about this topic of responsibilty
before i enter into the year 2013.<br /><br />Your article was extremely inspiring
because it cause me to assess my own position.<br /><br />Shalom,<br />Patti</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172214186654295397noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482620515926515338.post-57517082848302077042012-12-27T15:42:00.003-03:002012-12-27T15:42:55.551-03:00CLAYTON BYE<div class="header-wrap" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-image: url("http://delindalmccann.weebly.com/files/theme/header-bg.png?48923"); background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; color: #333333; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 13px/normal Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<a class="blog-title-link" href="http://delindalmccann.weebly.com/2/post/2012/12/the-next-big-thing-something-about-maudy.html" style="color: #627a85;">The Next Big Thing - Something About Maudy</a></h2>
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<span class="date-text" style="float: left; margin: 0px 8px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 4px;">12/26/2012</span></div>
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<a class="blog-link" href="http://delindalmccann.weebly.com/2/post/2012/12/the-next-big-thing-something-about-maudy.html#comments" style="color: #627a85;">5 Comments</a></div>
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My thanks to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><u>Clayton Bye</u>http://thecontrarycanadian.wordpress.com for inviting me to be a part of this week’s<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>The</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>Next Big Thing</strong>blog posting group.<br /><span></span><br /><span></span><strong>The Next Big Thing</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>is a meme that is creating an ever-growing wave through the blogs of authors who write in a variety of genres, with each participant answering the same questions about either a work in progress or a work currently being marketed. Each author then chooses five other authors to keep the chain going. The following is my contribution:<br /><span></span><br /><span></span><strong>What is the title of your book?</strong><br /><span></span><br /><span></span>Something About Maudy is my work in progress. Maudy should be out in the spring of 2013.<br /><span></span><br /><span></span><strong>How did you come by the idea?</strong><br /><span></span><br /><span></span>At one point while Maudy’s house is overrun with their adult children, Ralph asks, “Is there anything in any of your counseling books about how to make a blended family when the children are all in college?”<br /><span></span><br /><span></span>Maudy wistfully replies, “No. There is lots of information for when the children are young, but nothing about when the children are older. Actually, our children are blending nicely. The problem is that we are not getting time alone.”<br /><span></span><br /><span></span>I was intrigued by the challenges my peers face as they find love the second time around.<br /><span></span><br /><span></span>Also, a lifetime spent in churches has given me lots of stories to tell.<br /><span></span><br /><span></span><strong>What genre does your book fall under?</strong><br /><span></span><br /><span></span>Romance/Baby Boomer/Religion<br /><span></span><br /><span></span><strong>Which actors would you choose to play your characters if it were a movie?</strong><br /><span></span><br /><span></span>Julia Roberts could play Maudy who worked part-time as an actress when she was in college. Matt Damon with his head shaved could play Ralph the romantic interest.<br /><span></span><br /><span></span><strong>What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?</strong><br /><span></span><br /><span></span>What is it about Maudy that holds her back?<br /><span></span><br /><span></span><strong>Will your book be self-published, independent or traditional?</strong><br /><span></span><br /><span></span>Independent<br /><span></span><br /><span></span><strong>How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?</strong><br /><span></span><br /><span></span>This first draft was interrupted by the death of my mother, and demands from The M’TK Sewer Rat that I write his story first. I think the first draft took about four months of writing time.<br /><span></span><br /><span></span><strong>What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?</strong><br /><span></span><br /><span></span>Oh dear. Jan Karon’s Mitford series might be closest. Maudy’s story is not as nice. She deals with her own brain damage from domestic violence in addition to divorce, spiritual abuse, bullying and all the gritty issues that confront a small town.<br /><span></span><br /><span></span><strong>Who or what inspired you to write this book?</strong><br /><span></span><br /><span></span>Maudy has been very patient about me telling her story. Where did she come from? She is one of the voices in my head.<br /><span></span><br /><span></span><strong>What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?</strong><br /><span></span><br /><span></span>I do address the issues of the church and the popular image of the fundamentalist church in the media as compared to the reality of a small congregation taking meals to the sick, comforting the bereaved and bickering over the small issues confronting an aging congregation</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172214186654295397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482620515926515338.post-57788801310905380492012-12-21T20:58:00.002-03:002012-12-21T20:58:41.726-03:00<strong>A WONDERFUL REFLECTION BY ANA RUBIO</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A memory for the victims </span></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Sixty-seven years after the Second War World,
we are still asking ourselves how to remember properly the millions of people
who were killed in that period of time. Currently, a lot of people ask
themselves: what is the aim of that remembrance?; why should we remember such
an evil era?; what’s for?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Holocaust was not only a Jewish tragedy.
Eleven million people were annihilated and murdered in concentration camps.
Four million of them were Jews; the rest belonged to “races” as gypsies, Slavs,
Latinos… others were sorted as handicapped, incurable patients and so on. All
of them were labeled as “lives unworthy to live”. But, how should we classify
these other victims of the Holocaust, nowadays? Maybe as the so-called,
“collateral damages”?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Nazism never fought against a collective, but
against the whole humanity. For Nazi people, humankind was something
distasteful and repulsive. It was a stigma. The thing is that, they were
looking for a sort of creature who couldn’t think by itself, who was able to
sacrifice its own life in favor of the Third Reich, it means, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Führer.</i> They wanted some kind of
automatons without personality or autonomy; people ready to be manipulated by
them; people whose identity were to be a membership of a special Mass, the
chosen one (the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Volk</i>). People capable
of putting others down; to make them feel stupid and inferior. And they often
made a game and a joke of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In this context, remember it is extremely
important. We can’t forget any single victim; we can’t forget how the human
being became a being without a soul, without a conscience, without any sympathy
at all. They were absolutely crass, that is, rude and insensitive. The main
reasons for remembering are: firstly, to avoid these kind of events now and in
the future; those evil events don’t have to happen again and on the other hand,
humanity has the duty today to restore victims’ identity and dignity. Then,
remembrance is in order to ask for justice, but not for a correct political
one. Remembrance demands an alterative justice, that is, a justice in favor of
everyone. A sort of justice whose objective is to restore humanity in every
person, victim or murderer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Of course, it doesn’t mean not to punish
criminal people, but to make them understand the evil nature of their crimes. Evil
in Auschwitz is the attempt to make evil disappear, namely the crime of
criminal acts and consciousness. It searches for control over all conduct and
all criteria of value and moral.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The exercised Evil has no moral responsibility
in man. Criminal man is not longer a monster, even by way of the "Portrait
of Dorian Grey". Evil makes not villain people repugnant or disgusting in their
interiority or exteriority. In other words, Evil is as non-reflection of the
human representation of "Dracula". The human figure of this character
cannot be reflected in the mirror because it no longer exists; Dracula is pure Evil.
Then Evil takes root in the depths of each being. It has spent their being and it
is presented in its annihilator purity as being, as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 35.4pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">So, accepting this Evil people are isolated
from reality as a corporeal, knowing, thinking and reflective self. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Evil that, at first, is "doing" in
people criminal actions, as a routine becomes a direction of the inner as well
as the outer being as a sadistic omnipotence, its main life principle. Sadism turns
out to be an aspect of omnipotence –control over lives, an endeavor to stamp
out one’s own will. Because of this, the human being becomes a mere man
heartless, unthinking, dependent, fascinated and voluntarily possessed by Evil.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Let us consider what
they defended that they didn’t think that their acts were bad; they only obeyed
orders. It meant that they didn’t need to ask themselves for the reasons for
and the right or wrong of the facts, as well. It was not their business at all
that they didn’t want any responsibility. Responsibility is related to freedom.
Only free people can be responsible and we can’t forget that they were not free
to choose anything; they were automatons! However, what it’s true is that they
freely chose their condition of no human being and that makes them guilty and
responsible of each of their crimes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right; text-indent: 35.45pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ana Rubio<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right; text-indent: 35.45pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Doctor in Theology<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right; text-indent: 35.45pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Master in Philosophy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172214186654295397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482620515926515338.post-35479523130314738882012-12-13T17:34:00.001-03:002012-12-13T17:34:53.220-03:00WELCOME TO MARTA'S CORNERGentile or Jew, this is a time for reflection. <br />
My own balance tells me that I have learnt much. This year has brought me into contact with many wonderful people all over the world, most of them writers or aspiring writers. True friendships have bloomed, as well as the art of giving generously.<br />
<br />
As a writer, I look upon life through a magnifying glass. No detail escapes scrutiny, and many of the things I see hurt me. In my craft, I try to make the good and the bad visible to my readers. At the same time, my own visibility gives me the odd feeling of living in a glass cage.<br />
<br />
I am the observer and the narrator, but also the observed and the narrated. Does every writer split into two levels of experience so that her/his self breathes life into the characters selected? Is every writer aware of external influences -the layers of literature in the realms of fellow writers- pervading the structure, spirit, rhythm, and core of creation?<br />
<br />
Too many such questions haunt my days. I believe that, if we write realistic fiction, there is only one story to tell: that of mankind's plight. We can change the emphasis, the focus, or the tone, but not the kernel. <br />
<br />
Writing is my way of processing the information that assaults me from inside and outside.<br />
It would seem as if my comprehension of what baffles me were aided when I see it neatly laid out on a page. This is partly true and partly an illusion; a magician's trick, if you wish. <br />
<br />
The illusion is the best part. I feel I have the power to create, develop, and destroy imaginary lives. I also feel I have the possibility of helping real people heal through my stories.<br />
<br />
If these thoughts strike an echo in your heart, by all means share with me.<br />
<br />
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02172214186654295397noreply@blogger.com15