How to write all the wrongs of the world?

How to write all the wrongs of the world?
The simple answer is-Write.
Write about the wrongs and do your little piece to unwrong the wrongs. Of course nobody, writers or otherwise can identify all the wrongs but as you become aware of them, help.
I can think of many wrongs-oppression, bullying, intolerance, bigotry, imposing one's views on others, even for moral reasons, war, bank charges, long queues in hospitals. Judgement is wrong. Depriving the individual of choice, blaming other's for what you have done, unfair charges in financial transactions, not listening to what others have to say, lying, jumping queues, abusing advantage, locking people up without offering a cure, even if their crime is gross, homelessness, ignoring the plight of others, stealing. Lastly, if someone tells you a nasty obout someone else, ignore it, it may be true but it is wrong.
Blaming others as a control tool or just simply using power to dump work on others. I am of no doubt there are many more and they will be made know to me by the day. I will then write about them and do my little bit to help alleviate their suffering.
The first step as a writer is to be aware of your own faults and all good writers will know this, they may be slow to admit but they will know.
All artist s feel pain, just imagine how others feel, it is no less painful because the other person may not be artistic.
Listen and watch, the tools of art-identify the wrongs and let others know how you feel.
Debate, discuss, talk, listen, be aware, open your eyes, then write.
One man's (Womans) joy can be anothers wrong, never judge-Help!

At the end of the day all the wrongs in the world can be righted by listening, tolerance,  non-judgement, added to a little love, understanding and plain old tolerance.

We just need to write about it.

Dublin-A city defined by inclusion

Seasons out of Sync

Thursday, 01/11/12 was the beginning of winter here in Ireland and I'm sure England, France and many other countries besides.

Why I'm mentioning this, is because many people I come across are complaining about how cold it has suddenly become.

I have news for these people, it's always cold in winter, no matter where you are in the world, Ireland is no exception. Now, to be fair, it is colllllllld! but not as cold as some countries.

They are also complaining about how often it rains or it seems to be raining all the time.

I am convinced that it doesn't rain as often as we think, at least not in Ireland and when it does it's what our American tourists call 'Soft Rain'. I am sure our tourists are correct and it is soft but that's not what we remember, no! we remember it rained or is raining. Raining seems to be in our psyche, deep down, going back generations. There are people in Ireland, today, who remember rain going back to the twelfth century, I kid you not, it's deeply engrained.

To be honest, we have nice weather, some sun, some rain, a little snow and some breeze, never storms, tsunami's, earthquakes, hurricanes or unbearable heat. We have pleasant weather that is to be envied by one and all, including Australians from Cairns, Americans or whoever loves our weather compared to their own extremes. The problem with our good weather is, it never arrives when it should. Everyday is different and often we have different weather at different times of the day, it is pleasant.

I am convinced that Irish people are delusional in the extreme; they perceive it to be summer all year round. Believe me this is true, we can't see beyond summer or our dreams of a hot summer and this leaves us being disappointed with our weather. It should be sunny all year round, twenty two degree maybe twenty five, just enough to burn our skin, giving us a reason to complain about the heat.
One of the great things about Irish weather is'It will change' constantly, every moment of every day.

Obviously it's not summer all year around, just May to July and no more, though it does tend to rain a little during this period, not much, just enough so we can remember it forever.

I believe we need something else to focus on, something positive, cultural, natural, beauty, to give us a lift.
The ever changing colour of the clouds, trees, mountains. Just look around, its changing all the time. No two moments the same, open your eyes and see.

Why we never focus on our rivers, trees, wildlife and the environment around us. To give you an example, our rivers are exciting and ever changing. Every hour they change, their emotions, demeanour are never the same. There are also so many different parts to our rivers, history, fish, birds, bridges, growth under the water that can be seen in the right light.

Take the river Liffey, passing through our capital city, separating north from south, an exciting and alluring river, changing by the minute. Often angry, turbulent, sometimes placid, gregarious, welcoming other rivers on-board.

If we study her we can witness change by the minute, random ripples ever changing yet often unyielding, staying the same. The light reflecting of these ripples creating shapes and effects as only nature, the artist, can. It will be angry, turbulent, snappy and a few hours later, placid, calm, sedate, though always beautiful. a joy to behold. a bit like the Irish temperament

The same can be said for our trees and bushes, green in summer with beautiful flowering while in autumn the various shades of rustic browns and gold are a joy to behold. Winter is the most exciting when our trees and bushes are naked, exposing their bare branches and myriad of shapes, silhouettes against the overcast sky. Frost, icing, dripping as the sun gently caresses the white coating, slowly releasing enough liquid to crystallise into ever evolving creations that inspire and fascinate. Barren, raw, rough but revealing to those who take time to study, admire and relate to. This is what our writers, poets and dramatists use for inspiration and life.

How can we alleviate this problem or condition as I heard one of our local cynics refer to it recently?

My solution is to move the seasons a little, to sync with Irish weather and wishes.

You could say what's so special about Ireland, that we can have seasons when they want them and I can understand your question. I will answer by agreeing we are special, certainly a special case, this is how we are referred to by most heads of governments in Europe and possibly further abroad but if this is the case I haven’t heard it.

We are a special people who bail out the banks in Germany, France, Holland and possibly further afield if only known. We do this without complaint or regret and remember we are experts at complaining about weather; a special people.

Here's what I suggest and I would like to hear your opinion as I am open to change, weather and opinions.

I figure that, our best month for weather is September when the children go back to school, let’s call that summer, at least one third of the season.

Now! Supposing Evelyn Cusack (One of our weather people) or one of the other forecasters recognise it's going to rain or snow, let’s call that winter. They can successfully foretell the weather three days ahead and that should be enough to announce a summer. Say! Monday Wednesday and Thursday will be summer days with Tuesday being Autumnal, sounds good to me and keeping with the seasons. A little randomness is good for the soul and creativity.

The same could be said for spring, winter and if you want to devise a new season, who knows.

I have seen buds on the rose trees and sprouts of daffodils on Christmas day, signs of spring. Now! I would only refer to it as spring if there are signs, otherwise I'd leave it as winter but we would be told on a daily basis as to what season today was. If Evelyn predicts it, summer, if not winter or whatever.

At least with this type of sync, we could relate the weather to the season and possibly understand what was going on.

I saw pictures on a friend’s phone of snow in Dublin city centre last Thursday night, 25/10/2012 and we call this time of the year autumn. To be fair to the season there are nice rustic colours on the trees and all the leaves are on the ground as they should be, but snow, I wonder. Should we have announced that last Thursday was a winter night even though the snow crept through the radar without anyone predicting, even the farmers who are predicting a bad winter this year. (I think they do this every year and when it happens, occasionally, they tell us "I told you so")

There would need to be rules, like a season can only be announced if the Meteorological service predicts the appropriate weather, otherwise it stays as is. They would of course have told us previously what it was, as they predicted.

The benefit to others like tourists, is, they could book a late flight to Ireland if it was to be summer on Tuesday or at least, if they love our rain, they could book a late flight and immerse their sun tanned bodies in our soft, caressing rain.

Having said that, don't book late on Ryanair or that could cost you your house or potential mortgage for your future house purchase.

An agreement could and should be reached with our department of foreign affairs and transport on reasonable fares and by this i mean cheap fares, for this type of travel. If our department can make representation on behalf of Ryanair, with the Russian government, surely this can be repaid with suitable fares for this type of travel. Let’s call it 'Season Sync Fares', sounds just right and cheap.
Ryanair need to remember it was our government who gave them free slots in Gatwick airport when they needed them, time to repay.

Farmers could benefit here also, in that they could harvest their crops when Evelyn announces the appropriate weather and need not appear on our news bulletins telling us, yearly, how they are going to lose a third of the harvest due to the wet weather. Now they can leave it until Evelyn and co permit it.

We are all winners.


JC-DUBLIN-A City of Seasons.

The mouth of time sucks like a sponge

If we look at the mouth of time as a doorway to the past, a dark vacuum filled by memories, yours and mine, true or imagined, it is indeed a sponge. It will suck your time better than the invention sometimes credited to John Logie Baird, television.  We can spend infinite amounts of time watching American, British and Irish pulp churned out for the masses. Friends, various soaps, reality shows, how to sell your house, how to buy one in a foreign country. In the same way, the past can use up our mind space, imagination and emotions, focusing on this sponge and its contents.

It encourages us to regret lost opportunities, pine for lost friends, family, loved ones, as well as distort our vision to the extent we see greenfields and golden wheat, rather than the sewers of poverty, neglect and the suffering it chooses to hide behind its 'curtains of deception'.

It can offer us opportunities to learn and appreciate what we have today, offering its sponge as a springboard to the future.

It also gives us opportunities to imagine, a vast space of opportunity to dream, fantasise and write in and about a world that no longer exists, except with the writers, our, creative pen.

Our real opportunities lie in ‘The Now’, today, mixed with the learning’s from, what’s stored in the mouth of time. The sponge can be used to wring out and inform opportunities in the 'now' so we can enjoy tomorrow, wherever that is?
Dublin-A City defined by it's focus on 'The Now'

Grandfather Trees?

The concept of Grandfather trees intrigues me. Why I’m not sure but it does provide an opportunity to explore the crazy part of my mind. It implies a paternal structure similar to human families, children, parents and elderly crippled and bearded beings or in this case trees. The idea of a tree with a moustache or beard, in this case, grey or white as their arthritic roots slow their movement.

I have this picture in my mind, of trees in Tymon park, Tallaght, holding tightly onto the branches of younger trees, pleading “Move slower, my roots are stiff, there not as young as they were”.

“Come on, it’s good for you, if you don’t move faster your roots will clog up and you’ll end up immobile in an old trees forest, waiting to be cut down and used in a table or chair, maybe a newspaper. Did you take your pills?

“Pills, pills, pills, nothing but bloody pills, me leaves are falling out with pills. I have pills to stop rot, pills to keep my leaves green, pills for thicker bark, pills to help us hold moisture. It won’t be long until we have pills to stop the droop. Bloody tree doctors, money for nothing, just leave me alone”.

Of course the young saplings will jump on the grandfather tree, who will show them how to support a birds nest in the winter. He will also show them how to spread their branches to support the leaves in summer and look aesthetically pleasing in winter.
How the leave will absorb light and how this is important as food for growth and development.
How they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store carbon in their tissues.

“We are often expected to support snow in winter” he will inform the saplings and show them how to build strength. “A strong tree is a happy tree and beside, snow may be light but when you have to support it 24 hours a day, seven days a week it’s no joke” he informs them.

He will also show them how to create oxygen and absorb moisture when necessary in clammy weather.

“Water is important and we must take whenever or wherever we can find it”, he philosophises'
'It the juice of life' he continues in his grandfatherly tones.

To be continued?

Dublin-A City defined by it's bark.

Looking back from 1916

Question-If one of the participants in the 1916 GPO rising stood outside the GPO today looking at Anne Summers and Dublin city as it is today, how would they react. (This is not exactly the question asked in the writers centre yesterday, 28/04/2012, as part of the Inkslingers writing workshop.)

There is often a presumption in questions like these that our Hero’s from the past would be unhappy when they see how our city has evolved today. There are of course aspects of city life, life in Dublin, life in general that they would fail to appreciate or to understand. There would be aspects of life that would shock, amaze, surprise and gladden them.

Another presumption in the question is that life was good then, if so, why 1916, the GPO, tenements collapsing on Church street in 1913, the civil war?

I suspect they would have been happy with the relevant wealth and health possessed by all citizens even those unemployed and down on their luck. A stark difference to the Dublin written about by James Stephens in ‘The Charwoman’s Daughter’ circs 1912, if you didn’t work, you starved.

There would be something starkly wrong with a city that was. Is perfect and Dublin certainly isn’t.

Standing between the pillars of the GPO, they might ask, are they looking at a city in just name or is this how a city works in 2012. Do citizens feel ownership or are they just monetary tourists satisfying the needs of those who make money.

Dublin as a city grows and develops more at the behest of finance than the needs and wishes of its citizens. Though at times, they are the same.

Some research process I have been involved in, indicate that Dublin is made up of disjointed communities, North/south, The Liffey, Saint Stephens Green, suburbs, Business groupings, Flat complexes, family units, those that pass through. There are suppliers of services, not necessarily those that are high on citizen lists of wants and needs. We have disjointed public transport, roads by DCC, buses by Dublin bus, Luas by Veloia and the NRA, none of who seem to talk and agree. We have utilities who dig up our roads as if they queue for access, the same spots dug by NTL, DCC, Telecom Eireann, An Bord Gais etc., one after the other within a couple of weeks. Statutory obligations bypassed by declaring all digs to be emergency’s. Why don’t they talk to each other, the citizens and street users of this great City?

Are cities defined by not talking, poor communication, lack of interaction or as Jean Jacobs tells us in her book ‘The Fall and rise of the great American cities’, that people move to the city to feel anonymous but safe in the crowd, (Not an exact quote). If all this is true, we have the perfect city, exciting, entertaining, aggressive, frustrating, disappointing and unable to live up to the expectations of all.

Yet people smile on sunny days, through the challenges presented daily, through the troika, unemployment, the political system, the lies and half-truths of our leaders, the challenges presented by life itself.

Irish people, Dublin people, are generally very positive, behind the language that would suggest otherwise, “Shure what can you do”, “It’s out of our hands” etc.

The speed of the city and our interaction with it often blinds us to its beauty within, the river Liffey, Grafton Street, ‘The Basin’ off Berkeley road, Merrion Park as well as the many beautiful historic buildings.

Could the lack of interaction and buy in, sense of ownership be related to the lack of a specific Dublin identity? Where is our Dublin Architecture of the modern era rather than the cheap imitations from other cities, why are our modern writers not writing about this great city, why do we watch soccer rather than hurling and Gaelic football, our most popular newspapers are foreign as are our magazines, why do we look out rather than inward, a bit of both is healthy. We seem to need to write about international themes, news, sports, events rather than focus on what’s within and precious. Are our dreams, emotions, ambitions, focused on success in a global sense rather than on our small local economy and creativity? A lot of our artists/writers/performers achieved international success by focusing on what we now hide, our hidden gems, beauty, innovation and different way of looking at the world.

Cities are complex, Dublin is complex and standing outside the GPO, looking at this city, his/her city, our city, is a complex challenge for anyone, especially if you have been observing since 1916.

I suspect that anyone from that the early 1900s would be more than happy with what we have today, even if they would be puzzled with most it, particularly if they were offered a 'Tablet' for Christmas.

 Dublin-a City defined by its searching?

Dreams

Dreams are precious because they provide relief and the answers to life’s problems. Close your eyes and let yourself sink into a world of open minds and positive outcomes.

I go to bed tired, unshaven, feeling the world is closing in on me. Slowly I sink into a world of adventure and challenges that I somehow manage to overcome. Why can I overcome these challenges in my dreams but baulk at the smaller challenges in real life.  A challenge is a challenge whether in life or dreams.
Of course dreams bring me to places I wouldn't normally go, my fears would dictate a no go area.

When I was younger a lot of the adventures were sexual by nature and fact. I dreamt I was a creature of desire to all women and their resistance melted in my persuasive hands. These dreams have long since disappeared, at least I think they have as I don’t remember having them recently. I figure if I did have them, they’d probably kill me in my delusions.

Now! I dream of winning the lotto, travelling the world first class, meeting world leaders and inventing means to solve all problems, still delusional.
I figure dreams are very considerate and embracing in that they never present me with  a challenge my delusions can’t cope with. The type of dreams I have these days, are the type of things rich old people do, except my dreams conveniently disguise my age, sore knees, bad back, and other age related outcomes, in a haze of youthfulness, muscular frame and a quick thinking brain. Where my Zimmer frame is replaced by a first class cabin, in a private jet, zooming to one or more exotic holiday spots.
Wisdom often crops up in my conversations with world leaders. Bono will wave at me as I walk up or down Grafton Street. I'm often invited into the white house for tea or coffee with home-made muffins by Michelle. When I have to leave, Obama can be so disappointed.
When I wake up, there’s frost on the car, it’s dark and my dreams are replaced by reality and a cold floor.
Of course I often convince myself that my dreams are my reality and my reality is my dreams. The frost is the dream and the adventures are real?

After all-They are my dreams and my life.

Dublin-a city defined by it's dreams.

A new year-A new beginning.

A new year of doom and gloom, bins not collected, vat rises, property and water charges, flooding, storms everything except Santa being jailed. Of course if he was I could have missed this in my winter sleep.

A new year is the beginning of a new stage of life, a time to start dis-robing and tossing away the baggage of yesteryear.

We are where we are and the road travelled from here is the one we choose. Yes! we do have a choice.

We can never have what we had in the past, even if times were better and foreigners were shoveling money into our bank accounts, the past is gone, only memories are left. We should cherish and respect these memories but try and discourage them from dictating our path into the future-how dare they?

Our creative juices are a means to start this new journey. Let’s give ourselves a challenge and write 1000 words a day, OK, 500, 200, whatever suits and empowers you. Set the target and off we go, poem, prose or just gibberish, it’s a start.

On top of this, read 12 books before years end, start now, they are free from your local library.

In the morning, first thing, write something positive, philosophical or just record a good deed you intend to carry out. Maybe you’ve done one already, if so, record it and how you could have done it better?

Look around the graffiti strewn walls, boarded up shops, hoardings, broken windows and challenge yourself, to 'Recognise' one positive amongst the mess, it’s there, I can assure you, just look beyond the perceptions with an open mind.

Find a river, study it, capture its moods, emotions and observe its journey. If this can be done using pen and ink, all the better.
Look at our bare trees and bushes with new eyes and find a new truth. the beauty of this sparseness is breathtaking if 'Recognised'.
Make sure you are one of the lucky ones to recognise what others fail to see.

This is a new year, a new beginning, a re-birth, let’s 'Recognise' it and grow with a positive outlook.

A closed mind will never see beyond its eyes lid.

Dublin-A City defined by it's future.