Book characters

Aspiring actors are given the advice to avoid type casting. Only being able to portray one type of character might lead to an audience quickly becoming bored with that actor. 

Aspiring authors would do well to follow the same advice. Writing about the same subject over and over again will make what the reader can expect predictable. Some very talented authors can get away with it, weaving a completely different story writing about their favorite subject.

Among others, Jilly Cooper can do this. Whether she writes about Rupert Campbell Black’s antics in “Riders” or an emotionally abused grandma in “Jump”, somewhere along the line a horse is playing a part, but the stories are very different.

Author X (I shall not mention her name) is not such an author or she didn’t get the memo. All her books are about the rich and famous. I liked her first book, I like it enough to buy the second one. I was somewhat disappointed when the second story was again about people with money and power, but okay, maybe it was a coincidence.

Research about her third and fourth novel revealed that the story was again about the rich and famous and I thought “Oh hell no.”

Author X’s books summarized:

·       The main character is filthy rich. He’s not just a millionaire, he’s a billionaire. While it can be nice to read about people with pots of money, it can also become rather annoying. Especially if your bank balance lacks a couple of zeros.

·       Supporting characters work themselves into a stupor. Working 18 hours a day is part of the package in clawing their way to the top.

·       After work they attend parties (only movers and shakers invited of course) where they drink copious amount of champagne and sniff a few lines of coke. I have no experience with coke sniffing, but on the few occasions that I looked too deep into a glass I had such a hangover the next day that I was in no condition to go to work. 

·       When the supporting characters come home from the party they have steamy sex for hours on end. This really makes me wonder. If they worked an 18 hour day and got wasted at a party, how do they manage to romp around until the wee hours of the morning? When do these people actually sleep?

·       Still on the subject of sexual escapades … the men are always ready for action and the women have multiple orgasms. I have a little trouble with that too. I think it’s far more likely that a woman who’s been on her feet since the crack of dawn, and for whom the room starts to spin to moment she lies down (on account of all the champagne) is more likely to utter the words “Not tonight honey”.

·       While the women sleep their way around New York, Los Angeles, London, Sidney and a few other cities, they don’t give a second thought to sexually transmitted diseases. They meet a man who can help them reach their goal and hup, they’re between the sheets. Whatever happened to women making it on their own? Isn’t it a little degrading that they still use sex as a means of advancement?

·       The men in author X’s stories invariably look like George Clooney. I can only sigh and shake my head at the comparison. I mean really, is there only one attractive man on earth? Personally I don’t see what the big deal is. I’ve seen Clooney in his early years in the TV series E.R. and in movies such as “Up in the Air” and “The Descendants” and I see nothing special. He’s a good actor, but as far as looks are concerned he’s not my cup of tea.

·       The women in author X’s stories are always chic and glamorous. They wear designer clothing (of course, if you worked 18 hours a day in a power job you could afford designer labels too), their hair is always smooth and sleek no matter what the weather conditions are, and short of mascara and a bit of lip gloss they wear no makeup. They are blessed with a natural beauty.

Darn, I wish I was blessed with a natural beauty. When there’s moisture in the air my hair turns frizzy no matter what I do.
As for makeup, I need the full nine yards. If I was to just use a bit of mascara and lip gloss I’d look like death warmed up.

While some people will undoubtedly enjoy a story about millionaires and their entourage, that doesn’t mean that author X has to be the sole provider of those stories. Can’t she write about something else? 

Then again, maybe I’m taking this all a bit too seriously. After all, it is just fiction. But if I am taking these stories seriously, I’m hardly the only one. One woman posted on author X’s website “Could you give Adam H.  my phone number? Even though he’s selfish and arrogant, I want to marry him (and his billions)”.

United Way = Organized Crime

United Way’s slogan is ... “Without you there would be no way” or “The Better Way”.  The better way for what ... swindling people out of their money?

Back in the day, Robin Hood took from the rich and gave to the poor.  He was a hero.

If an ordinary person takes money from another person, no matter how good his intentions, he’s a thief.

If you’re going to swindle millions of people out of millions of dollars you better be organized and come up with a great name.  A name such as United Way.

In their latest pamphlet United Way states that $50 per person, per month provides 24 newcomers to Canada with transportation.  What ... they came to Canada any money?  What were they planning on doing?  Land in Canada and go straight onto welfare?

United Way further states that giving $106 per person per month gives people in high need neighborhoods access to computers to look for jobs.  What’s wrong with buying a newspaper and sending a resume by fax?  Alternatively, they could go to the local unemployment office and use one of the many computers there. 

In the beginning I looked favorable upon United Way, thinking they helped people in need, but then one day I read testimonies of three people and that made me see United Way in a different light.

The first one was of a woman who thanked United Way for her son’s education.  She stated that her boy was very clever, but that she didn’t have the money to send him to university.  United Way had stepped in and taken care of that.
I was appalled.  The guy got to go to university on the donations of others!  Whether he was smart or not is beside the point.  There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of kids who are smart and never get the chance to go to university because their parents cannot afford it.  What’s wrong with attending a local college?

And if his mom could not afford university or even college, what is wrong with him getting a job?  Thousands of others are doing just that.

The second testimony was of a drug addict, who after years of going through life stoned out of his mind had decided enough was enough.  He was going to get clean.  Admirable, but why should donations of others have to pay for it?  If he had money for drugs, why didn’t he have money for rehab?   There are others who have an addiction and if and when they want to make a clean break, they have to do it alone.

Finally there was the testimony of a woman who thanked United Way for buying her daughter a pony.  The girl wanted one, the mother couldn’t buy her one, so United Way gave her one. 
Do you know how many girls want a pony?  Hundreds, thousands, a pony speaks to a child’s imagination.  I wanted a pony in my younger days.  I got a bike instead.

Other than these I have never actually heard of anyone receiving money from United Way.  I see homeless men and women; I see people in need; I hear about people having difficulties making ends meet; but never have I actually heard that anyone received a dime from United Way.

So where do the millions United Way collects go to?  Do you know?  I don’t.  Another one of United Way’s slogans is “United we can make a difference”.  This is true, united they can come up with believable lies, take your money and put it into their bank account.

Perhaps United Way should change their name to “Organized Crime”.  

 Think before you give.  Where does your money go to?

TTC driver in possession of drugs

In Canada you can do just about anything you like, as long as you don’t smoke regular cigarettes.

If you’re a smoker, prepared to be hated, but if you’re an alcoholic or a drug user, that’s okay, you can even bring your booze and drugs to work.

You have the full backing of the Ontario government and union.  Three years ago random alcohol and drug testing for TTC drivers was suggested, but the politicians vetoed this request. 

Earlier this week a TTC bus driver hit a crane, leaving one woman dead and 18 people injured.  When police examined the scene of the accident, they found drugs in the driver’s bag.

When last have you heard that it’s allowed to bring drugs to work?  It would be bad enough for office or factory workers to pack a lunch, a drink and some marijuana on the side, but bus drivers!  It’s an accident waiting for a place to happen, and it did.

For more details, please visit: http://www.torontosun.com/2011/09/02/ttc-reviews-its-impaired-testing-policy