Wednesday, February 28, 2018

The Phone Booth - a KSHM Photostory

KSHM Project short story The Phonebooth is now exclusive to Amazon Kindle, and free to read for the next three days (ending March 2, 2018)

If you are looking for a quick read during a lunch break, a short story to ponder on your morning commute, or just something short to entertain your mind, this story might be for you.

While strolling around Sydney, Karl noticed an abandoned phone booth with the receiver dangling by its cord. On top of the phone, he found a few words scribbled in an open notepad. Karl took a photograph of the phone booth, and Henry let his imagination do the rest. This short story is a scenario inspired by the photograph.

Get your free copy on Kindle:  Kindle

Sunday, February 25, 2018

Tales of Ordinary Madness by Charles Bukowski - a review

Tales of Ordinary MadnessTales of Ordinary Madness by Charles Bukowski

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Bukowski – the man, the myth, the legend.

I’ve been reading Bukowski’s works on and off for the past 25+ years, and I have yet to find it boring.

Tales of Ordinary Madness is a collection of 34 short stories, some fictional, some less so, and some downright out of his own, unique life.

Unlike his other, pseudo-autobiographical works, or his other short story collections, this one was harder to read than most. Not because of the subject matter – after 25 years I know what to expect from him – but because of the frequent lack of proper punctuation, capitalization, and discard for text readability. In essence, many of these stories appear as how they would have been written prior to a proper edit. (this could have been either an intentional choice, or true first drafts – either way, it does not matter to me enough to do the research) Although harder on the eyes, the style does not take away from the content.

In this collection, Bukowski delivers his usual subject matters in his usual style. The master of the lowlife short story form. And for that, I am grateful.

By contemporary standards, Bukowski would be a misogynist, a racist, a tramp, a drunk, and a generally unappealing person. However, the same standards would throw many other great writers under the bus, so to speak. And Bukowski was, undoubtedly, a great writer.

Sure, he was a drunk, and probably not a very nice person. Nevertheless, Bukowski dealt in raw emotions, raw settings, and he did not really give a flying f#@#k about what I, or anybody else think of him. He wrote because he had to (those nagging voices would not stop), and he wrote in an utmost honest way. And that, I can appreciate.

There were many other great writers, but none came even close when it came to honest, raw emotion – Kerouac was too polished, Miller too philosophical, and Hemingway . . . well.

The beauty in Bukowski’s writing lies in its simplicity. If something smells like shit, he writes that. If he is too drunk to get an erection, he writes that. If he manages to get laid, he writes that. And if he finds himself in jail on yet another drunk charge, he writes that, too. He is able to observe the world, make fun of it, and laugh at himself at the same time.

In an era where the radio pours forth the high-pitched voices of whiny, wimpy-sounding male singers; where the media promotes sensitive males, tough women, and gender-neutral bathrooms; where political correctness trumps everything else – Bukowski’s rough manliness is a breath of fresh air (even though he was not being a man - he just did not give a damn). [and judging by the rise of #MeToo the image of correctness, equality, and sensitivity is very much just an image] I would never want to be like him, however, I can appreciate his existence.

In a way, Bukowski’s writing shows what he always said – he hated people, society, ideals – he wanted to be left alone. He drank to escape his inner demons, to escape the world. He gave up on the world, and reemerged honest in a way many other writers could not.

Reading his works never fails to inspire me to create, which is perhaps the paradox in all of this.



View all my reviews

Thursday, February 22, 2018

The danger of blaming only the NRA

As an author, I feel that it is not my job to get on top of the proverbial soapbox and meddle in contemporary issues through the use of this blog. Alas, as much as I try to stay away from contemporary political discussions, sometimes it is just not possible.

The recent tragedy in Florida has both extreme sides of the age-old gun argument heating up, and insults fly in both directions. This, to say the least, is disrespecting the memory of the victims, and is counter-productive to a rational debate. And rational debate is what is needed if we, as a nation, are going to minimize the risk of future school shootings.

The left is currently screaming for gun control, while the right is holding up the constitution and screaming at the left. Data flies in both directions, both for and against gun control, while in our nation's capitol it is business as usual. When I say business as usual, I refer to the disconnect between our population and our legislature. I don't remember the last time I was excited about any politician running for an office.

I will not delve deep into the issue of gun control, as there are more versed and better-funded groups on both sides who will silence me faster than I can place a period at the end of this sentence. I will say, however, that it is not a simple, black and white issue, and the only lasting solution will come with multiple changes across many fields.

For starters, let's just say that schools nowadays are run by kids who do not fear either the teachers or the system. Many parents are not parenting, and teachers' hands are too-often tied with unreasonable policies; plus, educators are afraid of the very parents who fail to do their job at home.

Likewise, healthcare providers struggle with privacy rules, and mentally unstable individuals go unreported to the proper channels.

Kids are looking up to celebrities, nonsensical Youtube influencers, violent music, and violent Hollywood movies (and who is Hollywood to talk when its own culture is one of abuse – as documented by the rise of the #MeToo movement). There is no fear of God, no fear of anything greater then ourselves, no fear of reprimand.

There is no reason why a threatening student could not be punished, removed from school, and marked in the system as a dangerous individual. Likewise, anyone diagnosed with depression, anti-social behavior, psychopathic or suicidal tendencies should be flagged as temporarily ineligible for firearms purchases.

At the same time, a secure entrance to schools (double doors with shatterproof glass coating) should be standard equipment at all schools. A dangerous individual could be easily detained between the two sets of doors until authorities arrive. This is not just for shooters - it would prevent aggravated custody issues, drunk or aggressive parents, threatening students . . .

Almost every school nowadays has either a security or a resource officer. The people hired to do this job should be experienced, retired LEO or Military, and should be able to use force when necessary.
Most importantly, our culture (or rather the lack of) has to change. Civility is seldom practiced, and rudeness is either tolerated or downright celebrated. Perpetrators should remain nameless instead of given the attention they crave.

There are many other things that could be done without imposing on people's rights and freedoms, however, the point of this post is not that (I got side tracked).

The point of my post was the danger of blaming solely the NRA - which happens after every tragic event involving firearms.

I go to a shooting range frequently, and have many acquaintances who own firearms. To be honest, less than 10% of them belong to the NRA. Most gun owners I know are regular people who lean neither left nor right, and are equally appalled by these atrocities as anyone else.

The extreme left loves to blame the NRA, exaggerates its monetary power, and loves to paint it as the root of all that is bad when it comes to firearms. To this, I’d say that by constantly mentioning it, you are giving it the power.

Remember when the media blamed and credited almost every terrorist attack and plot on ISIS? Guess what, ISIS embraced that attention and used it to recruit more fighters. Its power grew, even if not in the real world, it grew in the world of perception.

By blaming solely NRA, you are giving it media attention, you are giving it perceived power over politicians, and you are limiting the options for a meaningful dialogue, which is what our nation needs to make progress on this issue.

Frankly, if the NRA were to magically disappear, the underlying issues behind gun violence would all still be here. There would still be guns, there would still be violence, there would still be gangs, criminals, mentally unstable individuals, understaffed and under-funded schools, un-involved parents, and violence-promoting media.

To make the world a better place, we need to have a meaningful dialogue, enforce existing laws, provide help for those who need it, and punishment for those who do us wrong.


Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Artificial Intelligence - why?

As our technological advances streamline just about every aspect of human productivity, manufacturing, technological interface, and living, companies all around the world make the push for Artificial Intelligence.

AI promises a brighter future for mankind, or so we are told. However, there is another side to AI, one which is not often talked about.

Let us not even mention the fact that our laws are trailing far behind when it comes to the leaps and bounds in tech industries. Let us not mention the fact that what every totalitarian regime failed to achieve through force - the control of news and information, the tracking of the movements of its citizens, the manipulation of opinions - young people the world over submit to voluntarily on a daily basis. Let us not mention the fact that Facebook filters the information you receive, Google knows more about you than your own family, your phone and fit watch tracks your every step, and your movement is tracked through license plates and location services. Big data is everywhere, and it is here to stay.

Never mind the fact that a large segment of today's most valued companies produces absolutely nothing tangible.

The push for autonomous vehicles, drone deliveries, automated services, and other AI applications is, in my opinion, wrong.

The loss of jobs aside (yes, there are counter arguments and even universal salary tests); the environmental impact aside (autonomous vehicles will likely lead to expansion of suburban areas - for those who can afford it - and destruction of arable land); the evolutionary impact aside (the general public is not getting any smarter since the dawn of Smartphones); and the psychological impact aside (people are struggling with interpersonal relationships and interactions since the rise of Social media); there are many other aspects to consider.

In a report featured on Euronews:  http://www.euronews.com/2018/02/21/commercial-drones-could-be-turned-into-weapons-using-ai-report-warns
citing the University of Cambridge's Centre for the Study of Existential Risk
its authors warn of the possibility that AI could be used in harmful ways:

'Harmful ends'

Attackers could capitalise on the “proliferation of drones” and re-use them for “harmful ends”, according to the University of Cambridge's Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, who helped put the report together.
It said we could see the “crashing of fleets of autonomous vehicles, turning of commercial drones into missiles or holding critical infrastructure to ransom”.
AI could also herald novel cyber attacks such as automated hacking and the production of highly-believable fake videos to be used as “powerful tools to manipulate public opinion on previously unimaginable scales”.
“Artificial intelligence is a game changer and this report has imagined what the world could look like in the next five to ten years,” said Dr Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh, one of the co-authors of the report.
“We live in a world that could become fraught with day-to-day hazards from the misuse of AI and we need to take ownership of the problems – because the risks are real. There are choices that we need to make now, and our report is a call-to-action for governments, institutions and individuals across the globe.
“For many decades hype outstripped fact in terms of AI and machine learning. No longer. This report looks at the practices that just don’t work anymore — and suggests broad approaches that might help: for example, how to design software and hardware to make it less hackable — and what type of laws and international regulations might work in tandem with this.”
Miles Brundage, research fellow at Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute, said: “AI will alter the landscape of risk for citizens, organisations and states — whether it’s criminals training machines to hack or ‘phish’ at human levels of performance or privacy-eliminating surveillance, profiling and repression — the full range of impacts on security is vast.
“It is often the case that AI systems don’t merely reach human levels of performance but significantly surpass it. It is troubling, but necessary, to consider the implications of superhuman hacking, surveillance, persuasion, and physical target identification, as well as AI capabilities that are subhuman but nevertheless much more scalable than human labour.”

This is not too far fetched to imagine.

Still, in my opinion, the simplest case against AI is this - Humans are, by nature, fallible creatures. We do some things right, but a lot of things wrong. Any artificial intelligence worth its weight is likely to realize that humans are not good for long-term survival of the planet,and with it, the AI system itself.

If you were an AI system, what would you do once you become aware of that?
 

Sunday, February 18, 2018

Thank you

I would like to use this public venue to express my heartfelt thanks to all the readers who are resurrecting the Mad Days of Me trilogy on Amazon charts.

This work, comprising of the three books in the Mad Days of Me, trilogy (Escaping Barcelona; Finding Eivissa; and Eluding Reality) represents my biggest literary accomplishment to date. Written over the period of six years, it is a complex work of literary fiction with underlying psychological elements.

Using the stream-of-consciousness voice of Rudy, an unreliable narrator, the trilogy explores the often overlooked world of teen runaways, homelessness, and the conflicting nature of coming-of-age youths who find themselves torn between the notions of world as taught to them by families and educators, and the world as seen from their own experience.

At the beginning, Rudy undergoes a crash-course in humanity and sociology, effectively turning his world upside-down. However, with an unexpected dignity and integrity, he is able to see past his present situation and aspire to rise from the ashes of his former self.

Congratulations to the winners of the Goodreads Giveaway. I hope you will enjoy my work.

To those who participated but did not win - Thank you for your interest. The trilogy is available fro free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers, and for the affordable price of $4.99 to anyone not participating in the Kindle program.

Kindle

The combined trilogy is an Amazon exclusive. If you would like to read my work on a different platform, the individual books are available at Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and anywhere else ebooks are sold.








Thursday, February 1, 2018

Mad Days of Me, the complete trilogy eBook Giveway

It's been a long time since I posted anything on this blog. Frankly, social media was never my calling, and I use the blog only occasionally to share samples of my work, and new events.

Alas, here is a new event.

In an effort to relaunch the Mad Days of Me saga, there is an active eBook giveaway for the entire trilogy on Goodreads, with fulfillment directly by Amazon Kindle.

Yes, that's right, the entire trilogy, all 800+ pages.

This is my most challenging work to date, and it follows a nineteen-year-old runaway through the ups and downs found along the way. But it is not your average cookie-cutter coming of age story; far from it.

The three separate volumes in this trilogy take the reader through the dark streets of old town Barcelona, the beautiful island of Ibiza, across French Provence, Northern Italy, and Vienna on a fascinating journey where the hurt and lost seeks to find not only peace, but, most importantly, himself.

In each of the three volumes, two distinct themes are explored, offering a multi-faceted look into the main character's psyche, and the world that surrounds him.

The separate volumes were all well received by both readers and reviewers alike. This is the first time the trilogy is offered as one eBook. For your chance to win one of a hundred copies, please visit Goodreads Giveaways here: Goodreads Giveaway

Alternately, readers with Amazon Prime subscription, can now read the book for free on their Kindle Unlimited account: Kindle Unlimited

The Giveaway is open to entries until February 10, 2018