Publisher: BookRix
A collection of random thoughts, and a collection of poems, I have written over the years. I have Bipolar Disorder so my mood reflects the way I write at the time. Mostly I write the "random thoughts" part when I am manic or in a elevated mood, the poems are primarily written in a depressed mood. Enjoy
Lord Byron’s very name conjures up visions of the Romantic movement and outlandishly dressed bohemians, for if Alfred, Lord Tennyson was the poetic darling of the masses, Byron was the hero of the hedonists. While the traditional English literary hero was a nobleman rescuing a damsel in distress, Byron created the anti-hero, a man plagued by self-doubt and hidden sorrow. At the same time, his hero was also capable of facing reality once he had wrestled through his own angst, and even of occasionally acting nobly in the great tradition of the author’s Puritan forebears. If Byron himself was eclectic in his tastes and character, his poetry was even more so, for he could feature satiric pieces poking fun at the status quo and historical renditions of ancient battles fought with nobility and valor, all in the same volume. Like so many other writers, he used poetry to explore his own most deeply guarded secrets, in one poem playing in first person the dramatic hero and in another the troubled penitent. He was sometimes funny, sometimes lyrical, and sometimes verbose, but he was always interesting, and that is what allowed him to become one of the most famous writers of all time, almost against his own will, and despite his premature death. Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace were the first to conceive the notion of a programmable and automatic universal computer, which, on top of its ability to calculate any mathematical equation at an unmatched speed, could also be used for a seemingly infinite number of other applications. In other words, they envisioned the precursor to the modern computer. It was certainly an unusual path for any woman, and she managed to do so before an incredibly premature death. Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, died in 1852 at the age of 36, but during her short and tumultuous life, she was one of the first to recognize that computers could do far more than complex calculations.Show book
Where were you when the wildfires raged? In 2023, while flames rushed across Canada and produced the orange haze of an apocalyptic future, twenty-one authors picked up their pens and began to write. Red Eyes and Tired Lungs: An Anthology of Wildfire showcases a collection of thirty-five pieces from Canadian writers that were inspired by, or in response to, wildfire. Evacuation orders have been issued, and now the flame stalks across the forest. A sweet, lovable dog deals with an evacuation and the after-affects of severe smoke inhalation. What do you grab when you have only minutes to leave? Would you drive into the flames to help a friend save others? Flames shaped like women are luring people to their death, and a podcaster interviews someone who is apparently immune. Does the earth feel like an angry boyfriend about to break up with you? A dryad tries to locate the source of a wildfire and finds a misplaced creature. Can you find the good in a summer drowned in smoke? Will you miss the sounds of disappearing species? What would you do for a delicious can of sugar juice? A little boy listens to what the flames speak. A wildfire firefighter finds herself stalked by flames in two worlds. If you had to decide what could be saved, what would you choose? All these stories, poems, and more explore the many facets of wildfire. Will you weep for humanity when smoke gets in your eyes? This anthology includes poems and stories written by: Raegan Cote, Tyree Corfe, Asha Jade Goodwin, Morgan Allie Graylin, Cherie Hanson, Payne Haynes, Lesley Hebert, Drea Laj, Heather Bonin MacIntosh, Kilmeny MacMichael, Em Van Moore, Cassidy Muir, Rod Raglin, Jonathan Riggs, Alexander Robertson, Michele Rule, Jakie Sawyer, Anneliese Schultz, Hilma Sinkinson, Topper Sundquist, and Lily Autumn West.Show book
The real significance of this book lies in the fact that it tells us more about the everyday life of black South Africans. It delves into the essence of black family life and the secret anguish of family members who often battle to cope. – Niq Mhlongo A secret torment for some, a proud responsibility for others, ‘black tax’ is a daily reality for thousands of black South Africans. In this thought-provoking and moving anthology, a provocative range of voices share their deeply personal stories. With the majority of black South Africans still living in poverty today, many black middle-class households are connected to working-class or jobless homes. Some believe supporting family members is an undeniable part of African culture and question whether it should even be labelled as a kind of tax. Others point to the financial pressure it places on black students and professionals, who, as a consequence, struggle to build their own wealth. Many feel they are taking over what is essentially a government responsibility. The contributions also investigate the historical roots of black tax, the concept of the black family and the black middle class. In giving voice to so many different perspectives, Black Tax hopes to start a dialogue on this widespread social phenomenon.Show book
If you want to know your Socrates from your Sartre and your Confucius from your Kant, strap in for this whirlwind tour of the highlights of philosophy. Including accessible primers on: ● The early Ancient Greek philosophers and the "big three": Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle ● Key schools of philosophy and their impact on modern life ● Insights into the main questions philosophers have explored over the years: Who am I? What is the meaning of life? Do I have free will? ● Practical applications for the theories of Descartes, Kant, Wollstonecraft, Marx, Nietzsche, and many more. This illuminating little book will introduce you to the key thinkers, themes, and theories you need to know to understand how human ideas have sculpted the world we live in and the way we think today.Show book
Born in Sligo into a family of travelling entertainers, Sandy Kelly has become one of the top musical performers in Ireland. Sandy was co-opted into the family variety show from an early age. As a teenager she sang on the social club circuit in the UK, playing an ever more prominent role. When she returned to Ireland, she developed initially as a pop performer before following her instincts and concentrating on a music career. Her landmark 1989 recording of the Patsy Cline hit 'Crazy' led her to perform on stages all over the world, including the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and the lead role in Patsy – The Musical in London's West End. But the music industry can be a tough place. Sandy has dealt with prejudice and financial pressures. Alongside the glamour of show business, she has experienced the heartaches of divorce, family illness and death, and faced the challenges of raising a daughter with special needs. Sandy has stood strong at the heart of Ireland's music scene for over four decades. Here, for the first time, she recounts the highs – and lows – of a lifetime in music, in her own words.Show book
In seventeen intimate essays, poet Molly McCully Brown explores living within and beyond the limits of a body--in her case, one shaped since birth by cerebral palsy, a permanent and often painful movement disorder. In spite of--indeed, in response to--physical constraints, Brown leads a peripatetic life: the essays comprise a vivid travelogue set throughout the United States and Europe, ranging from the rural American South of her childhood to the cobblestoned streets of Bologna, Italy. Moving between these locales and others, Brown constellates the subjects that define her inside and out: a disabled and conspicuous body, a religious conversion, a missing twin, a life in poetry. As she does, she depicts vividly for us not only her own life but a striking array of sites and topics, among them Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the world's oldest anatomical theatre, the American Eugenics movement, and Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. Throughout, Brown offers us the gift of her exquisite sentences, woven together in consideration, always, of what it means to be human--flawed, potent, feeling. ‘These remarkable essays invite us to look long and hard at our own interior landscapes, and to negotiate exterior ones with as much grace and gratitude as we can muster’ Eliza Griswold 'Urgent, compelling and lyrically, luminously beautiful.' Psychologies Magazine Molly McCully Brown received her MFA from the University of Mississippi, and is a graduate of Stanford University and Simon's Rock of Bard College. She has published poems in Gulf Coast, Image, Kenyon Review, and elsewhere.Show book
