Opportunity knocks (my little secret revealed)..........

and a door that has appeared to be locked can suddenly open!

Like many, I have dabbled in writing for myself but never gone as far as getting anything published. For those of you that have read my other blog on 'blogger' or have seen my page on 'myspace' - you will have also seen that I occasionally write book reviews - and I have had the honor of having had 3 authors ask me to write reviews for their books.

One of said authors - Andrew Towning - I have known since May last year. He is a published author of 2 books (thriller/spy genre) and is presently putting the finishing touches to his third for publication.
Whilst talking he mentioned towards the end of last year that he wanted to leave that genre for a while and try something different - with a co-author - someone who was capable of writing but who maybe had not had the opportunity to get published - in the crime/thriller genre. Let's be fair - it is the fastest selling genre around the western world - we all want to know what makes criminals tick - hail the hero and boo the baddie!

I'm getting to my little secret - really!!!!!

So - not thinking for one second he was talking about me - we got to some minor pussy-footing around the issue and different ideas - I was chuffed to be asked!

Sending ideas back and forth and he said they were good and would work! So now Andrew and I are co-authoring a book!!!

Chuffed to gobsmacked in one hit!!!!

Now it is the serious stage of character profiles, settings, getting basics on paper etc and it is FUN!!!!!
I am really doing this - and have to kick myself now and again to remind myself it is real!!

I have a dear friend - Dan - a very talented writer himself - who is keeping me grounded - making me think about things when I go too high into the clouds - whom I know will not flatter me and will let me know if something is not quite right. His friendship is invaluable to me as his company on this journey.

My brain is fuzzy, my nerves are all over the place - in wanting to do this but also in working with someone already published 3 times and feeling somewhat inadequate - but so grateful to Andrew for this amazing opportunity and his belief that I can do this too.

It is a door that remains locked to many for various reasons and I have an opportunity to, if not charge through it, at least tip-toe through it and take a good peek!

So - wish me luck - I will need it!!!

Improperly prepared balls can poison you......

when they come from a blowfish!

In Japan, 7 people were rushed to hospital suffering from various things including limb paralysis and breathing trouble.

Fugu (blowfish to you and me!) can only legally be prepared in Japan by chefs that hold a valid license for the said purpose!

It is 100 times more poisonous than potassium cyanide - yet is popular with thrill-seeking gourmets (death is a thrill now?!?!?!).

Still..... it takes all sorts huh?!?!?

Some days are just 'WTF' from the get-go.......

Well... after a busyish night - I thought I would catch up on the latest news to see what was going on in the world - and there is generally something that makes one say, 'WTF??' ...... and today was no exception.

Headline: GOAT DETAINED OVER ARMED ROBBERY

Yep - in Nigeria - where belief in witchcraft is very widespread still - to the extent of someone being able to turn themselves into a goat!

Now - they are not confirming this - but they do have the goat in custody!!!!
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE50M4XT20090124

In one of their own online newspapers (link below) - the Nigerian Government made an appeal for this story to be disregarded - but that it is under investigation.
So if this is a hoax - which would be disregarded as a kind of April Fool prank here - why is it under investigation?

Does this mean the goat is still in custody one wonders?

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20090127150073

Uranium ore buyers review....

This is legal to sell - as shown by the link here for amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000796XXM/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller

Most of the customer reviews for this are pretty funny - but the first one which I have posted below is simply hilarious!!!!

Ok for cleaning teeth, not so great for killing ants.., December 3, 2007

By
Nero Goldstein "Bemused by a Muse" (The Great Nation of Texas) - See all my reviews

Picked this up for use in one of my kid's 'diversity' projects in school (Great Success!), and stuck the leftovers in the cabinet next to the baking soda.
Ran out of toothpaste, and remembered how you're supposed to be able to use baking soda to clean your teeth, so of course, I accidentally used this instead, and Wow! all I can say is, my teeth have never been cleaner! They sparkle, they tingle, and for some reason, they STAY clean now, no matter what. Highly recommended!
However, when I ran out of that fire-ant killer powder stuff, I figured I would try some for that too.
Big mistake!
Boy, it sure did not kill those ants!
Fortunately, those suckers get slower as they get bigger, so I have been able to use a shovel to take care of most of them, one at a time though, the sneaky devils.
And the darn trash man refuses to take them away..
I would have given this product 5 stars for the teeth and the project on embracing diversity, but I deducted one star because of the giant mutant ants.

Bush - GTFO!

I loved this pic for Bush! Very nicely done!

Now if only we could get one for Brown!!!

I ate little girls.............

How to win a competition hands down.

In response to a radio competition 'what is the weirdest thing you have eaten?' - a female caller said 'little girls.'

She of course did not know this at the time - she found out many years later when the butcher her mother went to at the time was arrested for the murders of girls and mincing them up and selling them as meat!

How the heck would you feel knowing you had been eating children for a few years? Sick or 'well - didn't know what it was but it was yummy!!!'

http://yeahthatsodd.com/2009/01/19/i-ate-little-girls-for-two-years-it-was-delicious/

Atheist bus ads banned in Italy........

Well to be fair - what the heck did they expect?!?!?!?

One of the funniest statements in this story has to be:
"In no other part of Europe is the Church's influence as strong on politics and citizens' lives as in Italy," he added. ('he' being Raffaele Carcano, national secretary of the Italian Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics.)
Altogether now ....... 'well duhhhhhhhhh!!!!'

Okay so everyone is entitled to their point of view and the bus ads are not going to be to everyone's taste - especially for those of us that believe in God.
It would be nice to see what the outcome would be if Christian religions wanted to do the same thing? Would it be allowed? Would they dare not allow it after allowing these in England?

The one thing that puzzles me - if these Atheists do not believe in God or religion - they sure as hell spend a lot of time trying to look like a religion themselves and trying to convert others to their beliefs!

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Atheist-Bus-Ad-Campaign-Banned-in-Italy-By-Church/Article/200901315206332?f=rss