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2013-05-17 22:11:52 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

Tried fried plantains for the first time today and now I think I've developed an addiction... 

2013-05-17 21:42:36 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

I've relied so heavily and so unconsciously on luck for so long that I'm only just beginning to recognize it.

For instance, I realized at some point that it doesn't even occur to me that I won't be able to get a table when a review says 'book ahead.' I've literally never not gotten in, so the idea of reservations has never quite sunken into my mind... 

2013-05-17 21:38:29 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Having one of those kinds of days today...

via http://asofterworld.com/index.php?id=365

2013-05-17 14:00:31 (12 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Your odds are already better than even of dying of something boring and pointless. Every time you install a safety feature or make some inane new safety law, you make it even more likely. The only goal can be to reach 100% of people dying pointless deaths.

2013-05-13 10:14:53 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Book Review: Ender's World Edited by Orson Scott Card

Ender's Game was published in 1985 and it is unquestionably a science fiction classic. One of a relatively small list of genre defining works. It was followed fairly quickly by Speaker For The Dead and Xenocide which appeared to be a conclusion to Ender's story.

Orson Scott Card has written a lot of other stories, but about 15 years ago it seems he recognized a commercial reality and began a series of expansions of the Ender universe. It's certainly valid to wonder at whether there is any real literary value to that. This book is a little different however. Instead of additional fiction it presents a series of essays by various individuals about Ender's Game.

The result is an interesting mixture of topics. For me personally some of the most interesting were the writing related ones and the... more »

2013-05-12 22:45:15 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Back in dear old London... every time I come I see a different face of it. One of these days I'm bound to see one I actually like.

2013-05-09 18:01:21 (12 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

It's amazing to me how much my reading experience is improved by having a real Kindle. I loved reading on my phone, and it was tolerable on my laptop, but having an actual Kindle has completely changed the experience. Real books' days are numbered, and not purely for economic reasons as resources become strained.

2013-05-09 14:15:55 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

The Flash Fiction Contest needs tiebreakers!

I had planned to leave it 24 hours, but when I returned I found that it was tied. An excellent sign for the quality of the entrants, but it does leave us with difficulties in distributing prizes. So, that in mind:

I'm going to let it sit until 5 PM tomorrow, and if it's still tied then I'll pick a winner.

In the mean time, go click through and vote!

2013-05-08 10:30:56 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 1 +1s)

The Mores flash fiction contest ended last night, which makes today Voting Day! The entries are in the comments; +1 the one you like to vote, and the winner will gain fabulous wealth!

2013-05-07 23:06:06 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

This is the eagerly anticipated flash fiction contest, with over 20 prizes up for grabs! 

Now, I know what you're thinking. What should I write about? How can I impress Gabriel and validate my existence?? Well, that's the beauty. The inspiration for all the stories will be Mores. It doesn't have to be about Mores, just visibly inspired by.

You're free to use the cover, the blurb, the themes and message, individual scenes, whatever catches your eye. It's entirely down to you as long as it relates back to Mores. I'll be posting 1 page per day this week (and possibly beyond ^.^) so you can get a little flavor even if you haven't gotten to your copy yet ;) 

For the purposes of this contest, a flash fiction is a complete story told in 300 words or under.

The prizes are below, but before we get quite that far let's go over theb... more »

2013-05-07 12:36:06 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 1 +1s)

This is the eagerly anticipated flash fiction contest, with over 20 prizes up for grabs! 

Now, I know what you're thinking. What should I write about? How can I impress Gabriel and validate my existence?? Well, that's the beauty. The inspiration for all the stories will be Mores. It doesn't have to be about Mores, just visibly inspired by.

You're free to use the cover, the blurb, the themes and message, individual scenes, whatever catches your eye. It's entirely down to you as long as it relates back to Mores. I'll be posting 1 page per day this week (and possibly beyond ^.^) so you can get a little flavor even if you haven't gotten to your copy yet ;) 

For the purposes of this contest, a flash fiction is a complete story told in 300 words or under.

The prizes are below, but before we get quite that far let's go over theb... more »

2013-05-06 23:55:32 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

This is the eagerly anticipated flash fiction contest, with over 20 prizes up for grabs! 

Now, I know what you're thinking. What should I write about? How can I impress Gabriel and validate my existence?? Well, that's the beauty. The inspiration for all the stories will be Mores. It doesn't have to be about Mores, just visibly inspired by.

You're free to use the cover, the blurb, the themes and message, individual scenes, whatever catches your eye. It's entirely down to you as long as it relates back to Mores. I'll be posting 1 page per day this week (and possibly beyond ^.^) so you can get a little flavor even if you haven't gotten to your copy yet ;) 

For the purposes of this contest, a flash fiction is a complete story told in 300 words or under.

The prizes are below, but before we get quite that far let's go over theb... more »

2013-05-06 22:51:28 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

So Glasgow has signs up that say "Cleaner Safer Better Glasgow" in giant, 4-foot-tall letters. Presumably they, like Dorothy and the Clinton administration, think that saying something enough times will make it true.

Never was this irony more apparent than as I walked under one after having been in the city for 15 entire minutes and saw someone chuck a 2-liter wine bottle at a passing bus, then listened to the bus driver yell out a lengthy, profane, and deeply moving diatribe with regard to the manner in which he would treat the aggressor's mother before speeding away, a shimmering trail of broken glass flying in his wake.

I knew I'd love this city.

2013-05-05 16:02:43 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Found a bar with 350 single malts on hand... and managed to get some writing done. I knew I'd left my bliss around here somewhere.

2013-05-05 15:12:48 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 1 +1s)

This is the eagerly anticipated flash fiction contest, with over 20 prizes up for grabs! 

Now, I know what you're thinking. What should I write about? How can I impress Gabriel and validate my existence?? Well, that's the beauty. The inspiration for all the stories will be Mores. It doesn't have to be about Mores, just visibly inspired by.

You're free to use the cover, the blurb, the themes and message, individual scenes, whatever catches your eye. It's entirely down to you as long as it relates back to Mores. I'll be posting 1 page per day this week (and possibly beyond ^.^) so you can get a little flavor even if you haven't gotten to your copy yet ;) 

For the purposes of this contest, a flash fiction is a complete story told in 300 words or under.

The prizes are below, but before we get quite that far let's go over theb... more »

2013-05-05 06:23:34 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

The best days to go out are the ones where people say "Wait, you're going to the Cuillins? Seriously? Have you even looked outside?"

Bliss awaits in the teeth of the storm, but most are just sitting inside waiting for the sun.

2013-05-05 05:47:41 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo with the French goes to prove my life-long adage: Any holiday is a good holiday if you celebrate it right.

2013-05-05 05:08:26 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Deus cadere non potest.

2013-05-04 22:12:58 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 17 +1s)

Brought into the light of publicity via some secretly anarchic plussers who will go unnamed. Fucking brilliant.

#banksy   #dealwithit  

2013-05-04 21:52:42 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 1 +1s)

Over the next week (and possibly beyond) I'm going to be posting a page a day from my first full-length novel release, Mores. This will be page two; you can find page 1 not so very far back on my profile. Mores is... two women who confront the reality of their worlds and fight to find themselves before they become entirely lost.

Mores Page 2
For the time being, all was peaceful. In this time of peace we find our protagonist.  

For the hundredth time she fled in tears. It wasn't his fault – she had failed yet again. Food, as all things, was scarce, and could not be wasted on her inferior abilities. At the age of twelve she had been given more than enough time to learn the womanly arts, as her father thought of it. It was so easy! Tears in her eyes, she slunk away to a patched opening in the palisade which formed the barrier between her people and thena... more »

2013-05-04 21:49:49 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

I think I just might have found my muse again... ditsy bitch got lost in the Cuillins

2013-05-04 17:37:34 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

In case anyone was wondering if Scotland had the right governmental stance to be considered a UK nation, they're setting a price floor on alcohol.

To keep people from drinking too much.

Lo, how the mighty are fallen.

2013-05-04 17:13:23 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 1 +1s)

This is the eagerly anticipated flash fiction contest, with over 20 prizes up for grabs! 

Now, I know what you're thinking. What should I write about? How can I impress Gabriel and validate my existence?? Well, that's the beauty. The inspiration for all the stories will be Mores. It doesn't have to be about Mores, just visibly inspired by.

You're free to use the cover, the blurb, the themes and message, individual scenes, whatever catches your eye. It's entirely down to you as long as it relates back to Mores. I'll be posting 1 page per day this week (and possibly beyond ^.^) so you can get a little flavor even if you haven't gotten to your copy yet ;) 

For the purposes of this contest, a flash fiction is a complete story told in 300 words or under.

The prizes are below, but before we get quite that far let's go over theb... more »

2013-05-04 01:19:33 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 2 +1s)

Mores!

Over the next week (and possibly beyond) I'm going to be posting a page a day from my first full-length novel release, _Mores. Mores is... two women who confront the reality of their worlds and fight to find themselves before they become entirely lost._

Mores Page 1
Millennia from that time there would be tongue-in-cheek images of men like him clubbing women over the head and dragging them back to the cave for a less-than-willing liaison and lifelong 'commitment,' but their reality was not quite the same. A powerful hunter, he became enthralled with a woman whose experiences had set her apart. Their love was not unique, but neither of them knew that, nor would they ever. They never knew each other as 'husband' or 'wife.' It would be centuries before such things would enter the common consciousness, but their commitment was... more »

2013-05-02 19:15:10 (2 comments, 15 reshares, 5 +1s)

This is the eagerly anticipated flash fiction contest, with over 20 prizes up for grabs! 

Now, I know what you're thinking. What should I write about? How can I impress Gabriel and validate my existence?? Well, that's the beauty. The inspiration for all the stories will be Mores. It doesn't have to be about Mores, just visibly inspired by.

You're free to use the cover, the blurb, the themes and message, individual scenes, whatever catches your eye. It's entirely down to you as long as it relates back to Mores. I'll be posting 1 page per day this week (and possibly beyond ^.^) so you can get a little flavor even if you haven't gotten to your copy yet ;) 

For the purposes of this contest, a flash fiction is a complete story told in 300 words or under.

The prizes are below, but before we get quite that far let's go over theb... more »

2013-05-02 02:27:55 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 8 +1s)

Lots of new people! Greetings!

I am Gabriel Fitzpatrick, legendary spinner of falsehoods. 

Mostly my content is about my writing and my travels. The former is my greatest and most sincere passion, and you can find my Amazon author's page, with links to all my work, here: 

http://amzn.to/18dT3zs

The picture you see below is the cover for my most recent release, Mores. Mores is a historical fiction and women's literature piece. Two women confront the reality of their worlds and fight to find themselves before they become entirely lost. Find it at these links:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/12yqpoI
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/11mvpxG
Smashwords http://bit.ly/ZuiEfn

Last but not least, my blog talks about the philosophy, psychology, and fundamental nature of writing through the lens of specific books,and... more »

2013-05-02 02:17:52 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

A journey of 10 miles begins with remembering your fucking water bottle.

2013-04-30 09:06:36 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Someone said to me, yesterday, "You can be right without being an asshole." I nodded thoughtfully, and replied, "I can be gorgeous without getting laid, too, but I don't know why I'd want to."

2013-04-30 08:56:32 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

You can trace an interesting path in the things people are (supposed to be) most sensitive to in what Atheists drag out of the Bible most commonly to demonstrate its dark temptations. 10 years ago it was all about the slavery stuff; now we mostly hear the marry the rapist one. Wonder how long it will be for society to get pretend-tolerant enough that people start using Leviticus 18:22...

2013-04-30 02:17:01 (22 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Kagan's writing on the Classical era very nearly is the modern study of the Classical era, so his retirement is enormous. His political ideas bear examination, to be sure, though I would wonder how fully he's studied modern American history in forming them.

2013-04-29 23:02:31 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

2013-04-29 20:22:13 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Game developer releases 'cracked' version of their game dev simulator with a twist...

I found this quite amusing and more than a little poignant, especially the quote from someone who ran into the alteration:

So far I am going no where. My profit is little to none. If I make an average game 5-7 I get some cash which is understandable but then if I make an 9-10 I earn the same cash because I get the message for the piracy...

So what I have to do now? There's no point in inventing a new engine because the revolutionary game made out of it will get pirated and I will not be able to cover my expenses.

2013-04-29 02:10:06 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

A new Chrome extension can open Office docs:

2013-04-28 14:59:42 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

It must be weird to care about how much soda other people drink.

2013-04-28 03:06:30 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Fun fact: If there's a situation where you have to take a moment to tell yourself you're going to stay sober, you aren't. Period. Don't book it into your calender. Not gonna happen. 

2013-04-27 18:52:33 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

So I'm trying to use Google Drive to share items between myself and another person, and we each get perhaps 1/3 of what the other adds into the shared folders, even though its all listed as synced.

Can anyone tell me if I'm missing something obvious?

2013-04-26 21:32:00 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

This is the BIG FRIDAY CIRCLE!

Since this is the last #followfriday  in April, this is the April Engagers Circle! If you add only one circle this month, make it this one! These are the people whose contributions to my content in April made it everything it could be, and without them the world would founder in meaningless emptiness.

If you're being notified, you're in the circle! Congratulations! Share!

2013-04-26 19:49:46 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

I would like to thank some amazing people. 

I am arranging a flash fiction contest for +Gabriel Fitzpatrick and a good number of fantastic people have chosen to donate things as prizes for the contest. 

The contest will run from Thursday the 2nd of May through until Tuesday the 7th of May. 

The flash fictions will then go into public voting. The flash with the most +1's on 8pm (BST) Sunday the 12th of May will be the winner.

The prizes will be sent out within 1 week of the the winner being announced. (Unless they're craft and need longer to be made).

+Jim Hanson  - CTFP DVD.

+Dee Solberg  - Review or guest post on blog.

+Bliss Morgan  - Book 2-pack of Nightmare Fuel and Bits of Bliss

+DarkAngel MetalWorks - Custom chainmail bracelet. 

+Tressa Green  - Short story and a cameo.
+Simon ... more »

2013-04-26 15:48:59 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

This video focuses on an issue I have seen quite a lot of here on Google+. It is more prevalent when people have a sale on their books. They will simply put "My book is free until Sunday!" and that's it. Nothing more.

Well, that's nice for you. 

That isn't enough. You need to tell people more and give them a reason to click through and download that book. 

2013-04-25 17:35:18 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Good afternoon my dear Plussers! 

We have set a date for +Gabriel Fitzpatrick 's flash fiction contest! It will run from Thursday the 2nd of May through until Tuesday the 7th of May. 

The flash fictions will then go into public voting. The flash with the most +1's on 8pm (BST) Sunday the 12th of May will be the winner. It really is as simple as that. 

As we have now set a date I would like to ask one last time -

Would anyone like to donate something as a prize for this contest?

It doesn't have to be literary!

If you could offer a guest spot on your blog, a review, something crafty, a piece of art, a song, a book, a custom story, we're pretty open and grateful for everything offered.

A huge thanks to those who have donated so far

2013-04-24 22:34:22 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

I want to see Eminem do a rendition of The Raven. Maybe get Dre to rock some Annabel Lee, have 50 Cent do Bridal Ballad...

2013-04-24 16:41:37 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 20 +1s)

You know your birthday went well when multiple strangers come up to you on the street and wish you a happy birthday, then comment on how drunk you were the night before... and one guy tells you that you kissed his wife "but it's ok."

2013-04-24 16:23:28 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

"If you only had 12 hours to see Skye, what would you do?"

"If I only had 12 hours?"

"Yeah, we've gotta get back to Inverness to catch a plane."

"If I only had 12 hours to see the Isle of Skye, I'd go sit down by the Kyle and cry."

(With apologies to an old mountaineer's tale from Yellowstone.)

2013-04-23 00:43:35 (16 comments, 0 reshares, 19 +1s)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Oh, and relatedly, fuck Shakespeare. 

#RiseofGabriel

2013-04-23 00:07:32 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

So I know what you're thinking. "Florence + the Machine is decent for an impromptu sex playlist. Thanks Spotify!" I, too, once thought as thee. 

Now, if I might, I'd like to be the voice of experience. Dear Florence is a kinky bitch, and she has a song called Kiss With A Fist that means a degree of circumspection is necessary before you can take that particular leap. I'm not saying you can't use it. Indeed, it can be an amazing choice. Just... be careful. 

That's all I'm saying.

2013-04-22 16:32:53 (21 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Would you say it's better to have racism honestly and openly expressed, or is it preferable that people keep it secret and to themselves? What about other forms of prejudice?

2013-04-22 12:56:56 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Timidi mater non flet.

2013-04-22 01:56:48 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Reminded of this every single time I talk to friends Stateside. Don't sit around dumping money on the bigscreen TV fire and talking about how much you wish you could do what I did. 

Don't allow yourself to squander the possibility born of every day.

2013-04-22 00:47:39 (11 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

What kind of pub closes just because one little employee threatens to kill the manager and the cops show up? Seriously. For fuck's sake, grow a pair.

2013-04-21 19:01:59 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Just renewed some items in the Etsy store. Including a couple of clearance items!