Scarlet Words

I have been humbled. The past few weeks have exposed me to forces mightier than I. Some of which I had underestimated, whilst some I had been kept away from unknowingly. My friend has shown great heart in putting his fingers into servitude to his inebriate yet talented mind. The result was a front page nod from the most read daily in the country - a fete I have yet to fulfill myself. It was in good spirit that I commended his efforts and trudged back to the dungeon of my soul to see what it was that I was not confronting, what it was that kept me from taking on such high gains myself.

But, as if that was not enough of an elation, the second encounter had me more lost for words. This new scribehttp://pornographyofwar.wordpress.com/ had the eloquence of Cicero and the vocabulary of a literary wizard. The fact that he dished away his concoctions of seductively phrased notions to the international smalltalk arena (read Facebook) for free, confounded me. How often do you find a facebook pal whose status updates are actually print worthy? The weight of his words could send a dozen of our locally-celebrated literary icons home apacking out of a sudden fear for losing relevance in the field or even in life as a whole!

Enough with the buttering of egos. The main picture here is that I finally found the art I was looking for in other people's writing. Sure, I've seen humour and I've seen wit but style... now that I hadn't come face to face with until Mr. Warporn (wordporn for me) emerged. Thank you sir.

Life's a Pitch

In life you will meet a whole lot of bitches in the process of making a whole lot of pitches. A bitch will generally be anyone, male or female, who demands extensive foot licking before helping you out.  They are present everywhere you go. Through perseverance and shedding off of several layers of your dignity, you should eventually tilt the bitch/pitch equation to your favour and have less bitches to deal with when pitching your offer. At the present moment, it’s easy to find yourself saying stuff like, “If I was in this guy’s position, I would never treat ordinary decent people that way.” But soon, circumstances change and a dozen excuses for you to be that bitch will appear out of thin air like Presto!

As a pitcher though, you shall learn to embrace the one word that all expectant women fear: Push! You will continually push yourself to hang on to your ambitions even when the rope is clearly tearing off above your head.  And most times you will push others to buy what you are offering even when you know you’re way in over your head. Push is the name of the game and it’s much like a game of thrones: you eat dirt, at least in the beginning, until you are able to pull people towards you using your mighty status scepter. Then and only then, are you allowed to sit back and act like royalty.

Long Live De' Peach

Depeche Mode is a band I consider a momumental force in today's music industry. They are not known by every pop music fan out there; just those who have been following the alt scene for the past three decades. Their non-comformist way of creating music (just like Radiohead) caught my eye the instant I saw the video to Enjoy the Silence (Mike Shinoda's remix). It was rock and it wasn't rock at the same time. It was pop but very un-pop too - just something new. And I'm a sucker for the new and unfamiliar.

Dave Gahan piercingly sombre baritone had a soft touch to it that I couldn't place a comparison to at all. His lyrics are not as complex as Thom Yorke's masterpieces, they just have a completely unique laid back, yet poetic approach that is devilishly addictive.

Dave Gahan

Martin Gore composes some of the most confounding musical harmonies that I have come to witness. Its more about the instrumentation that he incorporates than the structure. For the chilled out personalities like me, the cool that oozes out of Depeche Mode's music soothes parts of the psyche that nothing else on this planet can ever reach.

Martin Gore

So here is the Depeche Mode song that has been stuck in my mind all week.

Writing is an Art

And the term for that art is literature. Sure, anybody can pick a pen and write a letter but not everybody can make their writing style attractive. Famous people write books to make a point to the world but that does not instantly label their books as 'great works of literature'. To appreciate literature you sometime have to look beyond the message it carries and enjoy the technique used in creating it. Good literature sometimes means loving the connection of words more than the idea behind those words. This connection carries a whole new universe of meaning e.g. the character of the writer, some emotion, an alternative perspective to an issue and so on.
So I decided to put this idea to the test and see if one can automate good writing by using simple rewriting software. The following is a review I wrote about the TV series "The River".

"Aboard The Magus is a crew of people in search of globally renowned outdoor adventurer Dr. Emmett Cole. Emmet was reported missing while shooting a documentary on the undiscovered wonders of the Amazon forest. Led by his wife and son, Tess and Lincoln Cole, Emmett’s broadcasting company accepts to foot the bill of this derilious quest but under one condition; that they get to film every occurence. However, what awaits them is a lot more than they’d bargained for. The Bouina, as they call it down in South America, is a land of mysticism and supernatural intrigues. It is forbidden territory. Even so, the members of The Magus are out to push their luck by going exactly where they have been warned not to. But this doesn’t come as a surprise as Hollywood horror movie directors have always had a thing for portraying foolish curiosity in human beings. 

Tess’s unfaltering resolve to find her husband Emmet quickly places her as the most deranged member of the crew. She has the guts to speak directly to a dark ghost which was busy hurling everyone overboard into the river. At one point, she even directly begs it for two scratches in order to affirm her husband was alive. Who does that?! Again, the fact that 16 yr old Jahel is actually fighting to contain Emmet’s spirit which had possessed her so as to pass his messages to her wife is downright twisted.

In general, the River is more of a thriller than a horror; more disturbing than scary. In as far as orginality is concerned, the producers basically borrowed Anaconda’s setting and laced it with a little sacred Mexican folklore about angry spirits to make it special. There are many similarities between the River and Oren Peli’s famous horror trilogy Paranormal activity. Looking at the story line (absent parents, spirit possesions and oujiboards), there isn’t much of a deviation from the latter here. The shots were also done using Oren’s signature camera-improv technique in conjunction with modern state of art cinematography." 

After I fed this to the rewriting application, this is what came out. (the coloured bits are the parts that were replaced by "better" wording.)

"Aboard The Magus may be a crew of individuals in search of worldwide celebrated out of doors adventurer Dr. Emmett Cole. hymenopteran was according missing whereas shooting a documentary on the undiscovered wonders of the Amazon forest. junction rectifier by his partner and son, Tess and Lincoln Cole, Emmett’s company accepts to foot the bill of this derilious quest however beneath one condition; that they get to film each occurence. However, what awaits them may be a ton over they’d bargained for. The Bouina, as they decision it down in South America, may be a land of mysticism and supernatural intrigues. it's taboo territory. Even so, the members of The Magus square measure intent on push their luck by going precisely wherever they need been warned to not. however this doesn’t come back as a surprise as Hollywood horror moving-picture show administrators have invariably had a factor for depiction foolish curiosity in people at large. 

Tess’s steadfast resolve to seek out her husband hymenopteran qucikly places her because the most insane member of the crew. She has the heart to talk on to a dark ghost that was busy hurling everybody overboard into the stream. At one purpose, she even directly begs it for 2 scratches so as to affirm her husband was alive. WHO will that?! once more, the actual fact that sixteen time period previous Jahel is really fighting to contain Emmet’s spirit that had possessed her therefore on pass his messages to her partner is downright twisted.

In general, the stream is a lot of of a adventure story than a horror; a lot of troubling than chilling. In as so much as orginality worries, the producers primarily borrowed Anaconda’s setting and laced it with alittle sacred Mexican lore concerning angry spirits to form it special. There square measure several similarities between the stream and Oren Peli’s illustrious horror triad Paranormal activity. viewing the story line (absent oldsters, spirit possesions and oujiboards), there isn’t a lot of of a deviation from the latter here. The shots were additionally done mistreatment Oren’s signature camera-improv technique in conjunction with trendy state of art motion-picture photography."

Clearly, its an utter mess. The computer cannot tell the difference between a popular phrase and a nonsensical one. It basically looked for a synonym for each word it felt it needed to replace and plastered it there.

Conclusion? The Art of Writing is one that we can never hope to replace with technology. So keep your pens rolling fellow scribes. Your talent is still dearly needed.