Since two years I’m trying to finish the fourth part of my pentalogy The Maharajagar. Since I’m a dedicated plotter, I started with an outline as I did with the previous parts of this series. To recapitulate, The Maharajagar is a contemporary retelling of the story line whereupon the Mahabharata rests. The fourth part of … Continue reading Writer’s block or completely wrong outline?
Analogies and differences between my art and that of Gustav Holst (1874 – 1934).
Holst drawn by William Rothenstein, 1920 It was inevitable that, during the research for my own artistical activities, I would stumble upon the works of British composer Gustav Holst. Just as I do, he found inspiration for his work into the planetary system and in the Mahabharata.The Planets, a seven-movement orchestral suite written by Holst … Continue reading Analogies and differences between my art and that of Gustav Holst (1874 – 1934).
New Mystery in Utah
Yesterday I was reading up on the Utah monolith and while I checked the location on google Earth, I came up with the image that figures on top of this post. For those who need a refresher: The Utah monolith was a metal pillar that stood in a red sandstone slot canyon in northern San Juan County, Utah. The pillar was 3 m … Continue reading New Mystery in Utah
Can you really have a virtual presence without Facebook and Instagram?
Again I had a week where I had to restrain myself not to snap at people on Facebook, posting stuff like: "What about could I write a book?" or the 20 years old college student that wants to write an autobiography that would mainly center around some grievances she perceived during her freshman's year. Or … Continue reading Can you really have a virtual presence without Facebook and Instagram?
Depression
It´s a fact of life that some people are more susceptible to depression than others. Sometimes there plays a genetically component, sometimes it´s the socio-economical situation, a disease that eats away their vitality, but most of the time it´s a deeply felt sentiment of being blocked in their development; a job they hate, a relation … Continue reading Depression
A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars In 1942, the Gestapo sent out an urgent transmission: "She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her." This spy was Virginia Hall, a young American woman--rejected from the foreign service because of her gender and her prosthetic leg--who talked her way into … Continue reading A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell
Reading up
Sometimes it´s a difficult task to balance your activity as a creative artist with the needs to keep up with the obligations of daily life and still be left with some time to keep track of what shakes and moves in other artistic circles. Stephen King put it succinctly: Can I be blunt on this … Continue reading Reading up
Giveaway promotion
I wish to inform this community that I´m running a giveaway promotion of the kindle version of my book “The All is an Egg: A Synthetic theory of the Universe, Humankind and Religion” (Click on this link before midnight on Friday January 29th for your FREE copy). The concept of this book is founded upon … Continue reading Giveaway promotion
Silence.
We are so much used to noise that many people perceive silence as discomforting. A pause into a conversation must be filled up with meaningless innuendo. Every room into the house must have a blaring TV or other noisemaker. Some people even claim they can´t work when there isn´t any sound producing device around (albeit … Continue reading Silence.
Why Do People Blog?
Express Yourself and Share Your Passions Who gives a damn. Everyone is about writing posts. Not reading them. Make A Difference Really? Share Your Knowledge For free? And what will I sell then? Refine Your Writing Skills MS word editor is doing fine, thank you. Learn How To Make Money Online For a price, of … Continue reading Why Do People Blog?
Holidays,…. Again?
My previous holiday dates from August last year. Before that I didn´t have a holiday for more than twenty years. Last November I had some kind of burnout in combination with a writer’s block, and my better half suggested that maybe it was time for another break. It´s not evident for artists to break away … Continue reading Holidays,…. Again?
Create the art you like, or create art that is likable?
Most people have an innate desire to be liked by other people. While the desire to be liked is normal, feeling that it’s necessary that everyone likes you and experiencing anxiety and stress when they don’t isn’t. The prevalence of social media in today’s society only exacerbates these struggles. People on social media literally compete … Continue reading Create the art you like, or create art that is likable?
The NeverEnding Story.
We have a kaki tree growing on our patio, and for the last month the dropping fruits and leaves account for the lion share of my household shores. Every three days or so, I’m getting our little stepladder out of our bodega and trim the ripe ones within my reach, but since I’m not an … Continue reading The NeverEnding Story.
The Death of an Artist and his Reputation .
At the start of this post, I hesitated if I should include outsider artists like Henri Dagger, James Hampton or Charles Dellschau into my considerations. The works of these artists were only discovered after their deaths and gained considerable recognition. During their lifetime they’ve never sought to share their creations with the world, but considered … Continue reading The Death of an Artist and his Reputation .
Exploring Other Avenues.
For a very long time I’ve been considering myself an artist, solely based upon my ability to fabricate stories. Only lately it occurred to me to put my creativity at work outside the self-imposed confinement of literature. It started innocently: I wanted to design my own book covers by taking old movie posters as a … Continue reading Exploring Other Avenues.
What the heck is going on?
This post deviates a little from my regular discourse and has been triggered by mounting military tensions between Turkey and Greece about some drilling rights in the Mediterranean. Now, there is a similar dispute between Spain and Morocco about some areas in the Atlantic Ocean surrounding the Canary Islands. Because Morocco isn’t part of the … Continue reading What the heck is going on?
The Inductive Circuit Coupling between Chicken Soup and Literature.
Today was my turn to do the cooking. I choose to make an old time favorite of mine: chicken soup. It’s an easy recipe and while you’re doing the vegetable cutting, your mind has plenty of time to wander around . Although keep your eyes on the knife blade if you want to remain attached … Continue reading The Inductive Circuit Coupling between Chicken Soup and Literature.
The Creative Restlessness and Discipline.
Most creative minds are familiar with this duality. You have an inspired vision of a wonderful project, you start enthusiastically working on it. Time goes by, you get a block how to translate your idea into something concrete, you run into practical issues, you lose your stamina, and before you know it, your mind wanders … Continue reading The Creative Restlessness and Discipline.
Suddenly 200 pages became 500 pages.
Most people who follow this blog know about my inclination towards research procrastination. I've recently published an essay called "The All is an Egg" in which I tried to develop a blueprint that would unify all the fields of human knowledge and skills. The fundamental principle behind all this is relatively simple and is derived of … Continue reading Suddenly 200 pages became 500 pages.
Reviewers and Pretenders.
For me it is self-evident that every author is interested in literary criticism. I rely by myself on critics to sieve through the tsunami of literature that nowadays is released upon us by Amazon. Most of them are doing a great job and last year in May I’ve dedicated already a post that dealt with … Continue reading Reviewers and Pretenders.
Shaharee Vyaas 