On the news front, I noted whilst travelling to work the other day, yes I do have a day job too 
a traffic jam stretching for miles going the other way. I discovered later the reason for the long queue was police stopping the traffic at a roundabout, in the right lane (the most used lane to go into town) to ask questions for a questionnaire…The questions were, “What is your post code, and what is the post code for your destination” 
The headline for the story was “40 minutes to travel 2 miles!” And this information was “required” for a survey on a proposed local bypass..Surely an example of officialdom at the expense of common sense. Particularly in view of the fact the town locates the only hospital for many miles. Full story
On the financial news front, the crisis continues, with the pound plummeting to an all time low against the Euro, and $1.47 against the Dollar 
Our Prime Minister (the current lunatic in charge of the Asylum) is considering tax cuts to “stimulate the economy”. So where’s the money going to come from then, to finance the banks bail out, announced recently, if not the taxpayer? I can only assume it will have to be more and more debt re-selling, probably with a run on the pound to boot..More good news later…IF I can avoid the media news to find it :lol:The need for a second income has never been greater. Watch this space…
On the personal news front, many thanks to Lillie Amman for sending me a copy of her book “Dream or Destiny”, an engaging title I am fortunate to have won on Writers Notes run by Jeanne Dininni. Writers Notes really is a goldmine of information for budding writers, and for webmasters, and her contest is an example of how interactive blogs can be. I have mentioned on here that I also run a writing website, currently dominated by the serialisation of my Father’s novel. E-publishing is something else I’m looking into.. It’s coming along slowly, the novel, as time allows me to type up and upload. Perhaps I should think about software that types up for you, if you read it out 
I’ve also got a gig coming up with my guitar. First though I need to dust off the cobwebs…From my playing that is, not the guitar
Whatever you are up to, have a good week ahead
image by kitten of flickr.
6 users commented in " Sunday Ramblings "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackMark,
I hope you enjoy Dream or Destiny! You’re right that Jeanne’s Writer’s Notes is an excellent blog.
Based on my experience helping self-publishing clients publish their books, I’ll offer a suggestion for e-publishing the novel. In addition to trade paperback, I usually create a zip file with four common electronic formats (HTML, RTF, TXT, and PDF) for the clients to sell on their Web sites and the Kindle edition to sell on Amazon.
Offering the four common formats in a single zip file cuts down on customer service issues because people often order the wrong format when given choices. Selling the book on Amazon as a Kindle edition opens your book to a whole new market. I suspect I’ve typical of Kindle owners, and any time I discover a book I want to read, I look for it in the Kindle store.
Mark,
Thanks so much for your kind words about Writer’s Notes! I apppreciate your support, and I’m very pleased that you’ve won a copy of Lillie’s book!
Enjoy!
Jeanne
P.S. Good luck with your guitar gig! You may just be surprised to find out that you’ve actually improved during your break from playing! It often happens!
Many thanks for the tip, Lille, being new to publishing I can use all the help I can get
Jeanne, you are more than welcome, I’m just telling the truth
Yes, it can be the case playing better when you are fresh, always provided you still remember what you have to play! Believe me, fingerings go out of your mind if you don’t keep on practicing them. I will for now scale my reportoire down, and not play anything too demanding…Trouble is, that narrows the feild down to just about TWO pieces!
Have a nice day
Mark,
My comment about often finding that you’ve gotten better during periods of non-practice wasn’t meant in the sense of being fresh or rested, but rather referred to the fact that the subconscious is always at work–even during periods of inactivity. I’ve played a few instruments at various times and have found this phenomenon to occur after I hadn’t played for a while.
It’s also true as you say, of course, that you do need to remember your repertoire, as well as your fingerings, to play well. Yet, motor memory–along with the stirrings of the subconscious mind–play a role here, as well, provided you’ve reached a certain level of technical proficiency before your hiatus. It’s really quite a fascinating phenomenon!
Jeanne, Regarding the sub-consious, it’s interesting to consider the relationship between artistry with a musical instrument, and artistry with the pen (or these days, typewriter!)
I’ve been struggling for a few days now on how a passage of music should sound, yet today, I’ve “played” it through in my head, while I’ve been at work! I think I understand it better now, but my feelings came from not pondering over my instrument, but taking time away from it, so here maybe my sub-consious has “taken over” so to speak.
Mind you, I’ve still to get my fingers around it
When you do finally sit down to play the music that’s been dancing around in your subconscious during your creative thinking session, you may just find that it’s easier to execute!
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