Shouts From Down Under

ChaiLatte or 'Cino Sometimes life goes a different path hey?

Shutter Island Ending. Will anyone ever know how it was supposed to be? When we write our novels, does everything have to have an answer down pat? Should we leave a divided ending, a huge loose end that could be tied this way, or that, or another?

Spoiler warning!

http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2010/jul/29/shutter-island-ending

Isn't writing just like perceived best practice for the treatment of the mentally challenged? Surely perceptions can change over time, when the rules or boundaries change, when political correctness inches a bit further, when the tides of public opinion vary, and when a writer comes along who just won't conform!

I like to think that is me. I want to be the heroic word botherer, the sentence smith who breaks the rules yet gets away with it because of such an amazing read, written by a prodigy, by a savant of the series, by a scripture sorcerer.

Ever notice that its ok to be a celebrated non-conformist- one of those people who do weird, random, unexpected and irrational, unfashionable, dubious things yet they get away with it, in fact the public adores them even more because of their "originality" and brave artistry in concocting the real deal, being themselves, being a humble and raw good ordinary person.

Whereas, if you or I did this, I'm talking the plain ordinary unheard of dude, bro, sis or momma, if we tried this on, it wouldn't be original, it wouldn't be cool, it wouldn't earn us one audience cheer, and it wouldn't be considered artistic.

We'd be called idiots, irresponsible, tiresome, immature, bunging it on, and other terms we'd rather weren't attributed to something we admitted having written.

While sifting through new followers on Twitter, and looking at the list called Writers that someone recently added me to (thank you!) I saw that there were a bunch of followers and members of this group that I knew, or that followed me and vice versa.

One was my lovely cousin Kate (Kathleen Steel https://twitter.com/KM_Steele ) and I saw that she has quite a following, and an awesome looking website called

http://www.inkstainsandtears.com/

One thing led to another as I browsed more recent followers, who I like to tweet individually after having a quick squizz at their online stuff, if any exists, and in the tweet I like to pack a bit of value. You know, comment on something they do or have written or etc.
Wow, I don't even know where I'm going with this bunch of comments now except somehow I got to a new follower who linked me to the intel Twitter page. Now I'll tweet intel with a link to a site I feel (having previously mentioned this guy in another blog entry) should be given a plug on the world technological stage.

After all, with (that's right it came from an advert on YouTube on an Elton John song I was listening to- its that sort of day here- about preserving wafers of whatever so they aren't smashed during the rigours of transporting, packages of these being worth up to in the millions of dollars) all things hi-tech and the designers and manufacturing industry of said cutting edge stuff, wouldn't all these people like a peak at the other end of the spectrum, pun not intended but I see it, its there oh yes it is- autism spectrum. Yes, techlonogic stuff ends up as something that a consumer uses, dontcha know?

And this is a very special and worthwhile use. Folks, anything that makes these people's lives just a little less miserable, scary, boring and isolating, must salve the reward centres of those waaaaaaaaaaay back in the food chain who probably slave away in a thankless corner of a small salary life, their sole existence hardly recognised...
or thanked.

Here it is.

http://www.autcraft.com/

It says it is a whitelisted Minecraft server for children (and adults) that have autism and their families.

So there you have it, inhabitants of silicon valley, and the rest of the chip, circuit board, solder, funny hair cap, corporate boardroom and crib room brigade of convenience refinement technicians.

What does whitelisted, or White Listed, mean?

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=define+whitelisted&oq=define+whitelisted&aqs=...

What is the answer to facts about Tasmania that we didn't previously know? See this link:

http://www.heart1073.com.au/shows/dave-kylie-show/dave-kylie-blog/32-facts-you-p...

The Mentalist would know the answer, surely? If anyone knew some odd bits of trivia about Tasmania, fair chance it would be he. Read our body language. The expression of both heads.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=where+was+simon+baker+born&oq=where+was+simon...

His (Simon Baker's) purported "Official Twitter Page", established in 2011 records that Simon (aka Patrick Jane in one of his lives) follows one, but boasts 51.3k followers.
There is the bland statement: @simonbaker_ hasn't tweeted yet.



I couldn't help it. Research you know? The single one he follows is, well...see for yourself.



Official for sure. Or an Aussie sense of humour. Mentalist as anything.

And folks. What about life? What about your life?

Is it how it was supposed to be? Have you given your dreams the flick? Have you packed it in? Taken a summer sabbatical until further notice?

Last week, I had a bunch of work shifts cancelled "until further notice". This is the nature of my work beast. You don't get told, you can't get told. It's the confidential thing. I can't even explain it here, except to slip in a vague reference to a client I support.
What does it mean, until further notice?

I guess he's still alive.

With some folks, clients, I wonder sometimes if anyone thinks to tell them why someone doesn't turn up anymore to support them.

Has the person passed on? Do they hate me? Do those responsible hate me? Well, that's getting a bit carried away with the morbid self pitying wierdness. No. Weirdness.

Where am I going, can someone please tell me? Well, there's a mistake right there. An independent clause and a second independent clause should be joined by...what?

Conjunctivitis?

Neil Young seems to get in the way often, on YouTube, with his thought provoking song lyrics.

I think part of his listenability comes from not being in a rush. Maybe he never planned on singing or performing to a silent sober looking audience of avid concentrators.
But there they are, like sponges with hair, eyes transporting us away to a lonely place, some place everyone can relate to, some place every writer knows at some time or other.

Wherever he meant to be, his music and words in my ears is how it ended just now. That's where Neil Young's songs eventually found their resting place.

One of the resting places anyway. A dusty cavity with a couple of bits of fluff and the muted sound of my heartbeat and wheezy breathing. (I have a bronchial lung thing atm)

I'm quiet now. Calm. At peace and ready for tea. The heater needs wood. It's blowing a gale outside, yes "rainin' outside" as Neil sings. My wife said there needs to be a "barrer load of wood brought in" and that West Ulverstone has no power. She was talking to her mum, who has a torch somewhere and is ok by herself in the dark (??!)

Neil. @1971 and his words came across those years into my ear hole. s.



7,613 characters used out of 20,000 it says above this blog entry. Just in the notepad so I suppose there'll be a few more.

I asked my wife if she'd mind if I put a photo, just one, that I took of her looking a bit smug as she stood next to a big glass juice dispenser thingy, that I gave her for her birthday. Although it was cheap, and the thought would have to count, she hinted that it would be a welcome object in the kitchen and for catering purposes when we have people over for tea. You can see for yourself she's happy with it.

Well, she said she'd "rather not" have the photo put here, but I wanted to introduce her, and just to those who read this blog often and have done so over the past couple of years- whatever it is.

Invalid Photo #1040109

She doesn't really smile like other people. This is a huge smile for her. And her hair started to turn white when she was 21. People mistake her for my "mother" and sometimes it's hilarious the reaction we see when we correct them.

It's understandable. The hair makes her look lots older than she is, but fair's fair. She IS a cougar *biglaugh* She is 12 years and twenty days older than me. Yes, OLDER than me.

Maybe life hasn't turned out how either of us imagined. But we are still here, still together, and still have that spark. I guess I'm not the only writer who is Sparky.

Will our lives, and our writing careers, end with a huge twist like the Shutter Island novel or movie? Will the twist be talked about, discussed, debated, argued about, heatedly, for decades to come, after we are gone?

Sparky