saved by a book/books

some jokes/anecdotes for the weekend ;)

2012-02-02T14:28:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone will have a great weekend, and Í'm sure such jokes/anecdotes could help about that ;):

When a school-boy was asked which teeth appear last in humans, he was too confident replying: The false...

It's a well-known fact that nehind the complaints of a beauty, there are awlys at least 2 ugly women...

"Is it the police?"
"Yes, how can we help you?"
Two girls are fighting for me!"
"So? What's the problem, then?"
"The ugly one is winning..."

http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg, http://allanbard.hpage.com, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Allan-Bard-Ivan-Stoikov-Fan-Page-Strategic-Book-Group/121092637984053,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qUA8Avl7ew,

Writing of books – escaping from reality or just using it?

2012-01-29T14:53:00.000-08:00

As far as I know, the common opinion about being an actor, physician, writer is that you are not obliged to be at least a little crazy, peculiar and strange to be one, but it helps a lot… There are many evidences about this “rule”: while Miguel de Cervantes was writing his Don Quixote, he wasn’t interested in anything else but writing. He was so far away from reality that he wasn’t impressed a bit about his spoiled daughter’s behavior or his wife’s threats for divorce if he wouldn’t do anything for his family. As far as I remember, J. Adams used to get naked while writing some of his Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy’s stories (probably that way his mood would be the right for his funny stories). While writing, Umberto Eco surrounds himself with all sorts of small figures of ancient people to feel better the spirit of the time he’s writing about…
There are many similar events of the kind I guess, which prove how important it is to use one’s imagination while writing, but when the matter at hand is ignoring the reality creating a story, I would say: Quite the contrary! Even the most abstract sci-fi and fantasy books require a lot of the real life’s wisdom, or its “boring”, “dull” and “meaningless” details, which with a little imagination could be turned into an inspiring, wise or even funny adventure, novel, etc. So, only the one who never wrote a story would claim writing has nothing to do with reality and to create a good manuscript every writer have to forget the every day’s events, mishaps, joys, etc. For example, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels was actually a parody of the political intrigues and stupidity and strivings for power at any cost of England’s high society from the author’s time, and because of this combining of fiction and reality I guess it’s still one of the classics. J. R. Tolkien also used some facts about animals, plants, which made his The Lord Of The Rings more real (remember that Frodo wasn’t killed by the giant spider Shelob’s sting but just paralyzed?).
Of course all these speculations are true for every writer, not only for the most famous (writing is a process that’s not much different, no matter how different the genre an author writes is). Thinking about that, I realized I used a lot of my biological knowledge to create many of my animal characters and their adventures, I used also some political debates, some philosophical thoughts/speculations from our time, etc…
I’m more than certain every writer could share similar experiences?
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg, http://allanbard.hpage.com, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Allan-Bard-Ivan-Stoikov-Fan-Page-Strategic-Book-Group/121092637984053,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qUA8Avl7ew, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ijJl-6Be88, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vkixN9Nr2Q - pigeons, www.allanbard.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=263533&id=100000137216974#!/video/video.php?v=1297361605743,
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/ivanstoikov.allanbard, http:// www.allanbard.blogspot.com, www.allanbard.wordpress.com

jokes/anecdotes to make your Friday/weekend, some not appropriate for kids...;)

2012-01-27T12:33:00.000-08:00

Some funny jokes/anecdotes I found and I guess could make anyone's Friday/weekend ;):
Answers of a Brilliant student who obtained 0% Q. In which battle did Napoleon die? A. His last battle. Q. Where was the Declaration of Independence Signed? A. At the Bottom of the Page. Q. River Ganges flows in which state? A. Liquid. Q. What's the main reason for Divorce? A. Marriage. Q. What's the main reason for Failure? A. Examinations... Did the student Answer Anything Wrong?

In a sex shop: I want a sex-doll... White or black? White. Fat or slim? Slim. Tall or short? Tall. Christian or Muslim? What's the difference...? Well, the Muslim explodes at the end...;)

2 hookers are waiting in the street for customers, and 2 cats are making love on the roof above them. Suddenly, as the cats didn't pay attention to anything else, they fell down. And a gypsy boy who played on the other side of the street shouted out: Hey, ladies, your advertisment is gone... ;)

If you don't turn the light on during a date, you could save not only electricity but cosmetics too...
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg, http://allanbard.hpage.com, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Allan-Bard-Ivan-Stoikov-Fan-Page-Strategic-Book-Group/121092637984053,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qUA8Avl7ew, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ijJl-6Be88, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vkixN9Nr2Q - pigeons, www.allanbard.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=263533&id=100000137216974#!/video/video.php?v=1297361605743,
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/ivanstoikov.allanbard, http:// www.allanbard.blogspot.com, www.allanbard.wordpress.com

laughter could heal ;)

2012-01-16T12:39:00.000-08:00

This post of a friend of mine at FB reminded me of my own pranks as a kid, when we threw eggs and tomatoes, or plastic bags filled with water, from the windows to hit people in the streets, or called strangers on the phone and turned a cassette player on close to the phone and spoke nonsense, or put lady's socks on our heads with 2 holes for the eyes and entered into a lift and waited for someone to call the lift, or nailed the shoes of a severe teacher of ours to the floor, etc...;). A post that proves again that laughter could be a good medicine, so I couldn't refrain from re-posting it...
via Allison Dohrman
WARNING...THIS IS LONG...BUT VERY FUNNY! THANKS =)

Why Women Shouldn't Take Men Shopping...

After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to Target. Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunate, my wife is like most women - she loves to browse. Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter from the local Target.

Dear Mrs. Samuel,

Over the past six months, your husband has caused quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against your husband, Mr. Samuel, are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.

1.June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in other people's carts when they weren't looking.

2.July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.

3.July 7: He made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women's restroom.

4.July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, 'Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away'. This caused the employee to leave her assigned station and receive a reprimand from her Supervisor that in turn resulted with a union grievance, causing management to lose time and costing the company money.

5.August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&Ms on layaway.

6.August 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

7.August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told the children shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department to which twenty children obliged.

8.August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?' EMTs were called.

9.September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.

10.September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.

11.October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the 'Mission Impossible' theme.

12.October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his 'Madonna look' by using different sizes of funnels.

13.October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'

14.October 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!'

And last, but certainly not least:

15.October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet paper in here.' One of the clerks passed out.
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg, http://allanbard.hpage.com, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Allan-Bard-Ivan-Stoikov-Fan-Page-Strategic-Book-Group/121092637984053,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qUA8Avl7ew, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ijJl-6Be88, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vkixN9Nr2Q - pigeons, www.allanbard.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=263533&id=100000137216974#!/video/video.php?v=1297361605743,
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/ivanstoikov.allanbard, http:// www.allanbard.blogspot.com, www.allanbard.wordpress.com

some funny jokes/anecdotes to make one's day ;) , no too appropriate for children, though

2012-01-11T15:19:00.000-08:00

They say that laughter is the best medicine and I support such an opinion 100 %, as in the past I've experienced what it means to be saved by books and the good mood inspired by them... That was why I decided to post some anecdotes/jokes from time to time, which I guess many people could appreciate? I guess many of my friends will be glad to read them here, actually many of them encouraged me to do that regularly, that way more people could enjoy them and will deal better with every day stress, mishaps, etc. Not all of them are mine, and some of them are not too appropriate for children, so I'll mention this in the beggining and in the title...
3 surgeons were talking to one another: "They brought me a miner cut in 3 pieces, said the American. I did my job well and now he's working again."
"Well, they brought me a driver cut in 5 pieces, said the Russian. i did my job and now he's driving again."
"And they brought me an ass and a pair of ears, said the Bulgarian. I did my job very well and now he's the chief of our hospital... ;)"

A young man and a lady were travelling with a train in the night, the youngster wanted to make sex with the lady but was too shy to ask her. But when they went to their beds, he tied a long thread on his penis, dropped it from his bed to the bed of the lady and on the other end he had tied a note: 'Unknown beauty, I like you very much, if you want to make love pull the thread once, if not, pull it 40 times, and let the last 10 times be very fast...' ;).
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg, http://allanbard.hpage.com, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Allan-Bard-Ivan-Stoikov-Fan-Page-Strategic-Book-Group/121092637984053,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, www.allanbard.wordpress.com

The funniest/craziest/most amazing/incredible, etc Christmas/New Year’s Eve’s events.

2012-01-03T14:18:00.000-08:00

As far as I know, in most countries Christmas is more important feast than New Year’s Eve. Yet, I couldn’t refrain from pointing out New Year’s celebration too, as in the past Christmas was forbidden in all ex-communist countries, so many people, including me, have good memories only from the next feast after Jesus’ birthday.
Well, it doesn’t mean we didn’t have wonderful Christmas trees and nice presents, only that they were decorated and given at New Year’s Eve. And of course, we had some good, crazy, funny moments despite the many taboos of the system (though I guess they were less by a feast, as we didn’t have presents for Christmas). Like the vague now memory how as a five-six year old kid I usually broke all the Christmas toys/decorations on our tree just for five minutes (back then, here they were made of a very fragile kind of glass ;). My parents had to keep an eye on me all the time until the feast was over. I didn’t mean to be a bad boy, actually, I was just curious to play with the toys/decorations and have a better look at them ;). Or that I was convinced that it would be much better if not Santa Claus but a dragon with three heads would be the best choice for the job presents giving. And I even tried to convince the other kids that I saw her a couple of times (I thought a girl dragon would be better in this job ;).
I’ll never forget also what tremendous preparations we made with a friend of mine to use our first piece of fireworks (of the kind that beside the loud bang and colorful sparkles threw out many confetti). We tied it on a long wooden stick, to be away from the “dangerous” fire of the sparkles, and wound a couple of thick blouses around our heads, so that to be better protected from the loud bang…
This Christmas a colleague of mine told us that her five year old daughter decided to drink a lot of water the day before Christmas, so she would wake up at least a few times at night to go to the toilet, but that way she would meet Santa Claus exactly when he “delivered” the presents… 
I’m sure anyone could share similar experiences? Whenever and wherever kids are involved, there are always laughter, joy and funny events ! Events that could be more crazy and funny than any imaginary adventures in books or movies?
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg, http://allanbard.hpage.com, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Allan-Bard-Ivan-Stoikov-Fan-Page-Strategic-Book-Group/121092637984053,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qUA8Avl7ew, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ijJl-6Be88, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vkixN9Nr2Q - pigeons, www.allanbard.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=263533&id=100000137216974#!/video/video.php?v=1297361605743,
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/ivanstoikov.allanbard

What was/is/could/will be the best Christmas present?

2011-12-24T04:55:00.000-08:00

First, let's wish everyone Merry Christmas and Happy New 2012 Year!!! Well, many people would say the best present they would get could be world peace, joy, happiness everywhere on Earth... And they all will be right, of course! But that would be for many other people, not only for them, though I support such a wish/present 100, no 1000 %!
Yet, I mean the best personal present... And I guess many people would agree that one of the best presents could be a book? I had a very good one this year, the complete, full edition of Arabian Nights! Can't wait to read it though it's quite a volume - about 900 pages and written with very small font! Actually, it seems it has almost nothing in common with all the other versions I’ve read as a kid, or with any interpretations I’ve seen as movies, though there were some really good ones! It’s not for kids at all, as it seems….
Well, I couldn’t say I haven’t had some other good presents over the years: an original Colmar jacket, chemical set for many experiments I received as a kid, some exotic fishes for my aquariums, a couple of parrots, etc… I guess anyone could point out some good ones too, even much better than mine? And much better than the gift from my greeting card on top of the post? Let it be my gift for all the readers! 
Best wishes to all! Let the wonderful noise of the sea always sounds in your ears! (a greeting of the water dragons' hunters - my Tale Of The Rock Pieces).

http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg, http://allanbard.hpage.com, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Allan-Bard-Ivan-Stoikov-Fan-Page-Strategic-Book-Group/121092637984053,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qUA8Avl7ew, http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/ivanstoikov.allanbard

Magical worlds or the magic in the modern world.

2011-12-03T15:15:00.000-08:00

If you are a fantasy/sci-fy fan, you probably regretted many times that you were not born somewhere else or at least in a different time? Most of my friends who like these genres shared the same opinion too. Yet, it seems I was the one who hated reality so much, that all the people around me thought I should visit a mental specialist. Everything in my everyday life seemed so boring and senseless that I used every moment to dream and search for magical events, creatures, adventures, etc in books and movies.
As years went by, I even began to create my own stories as an asylum to “escape” from the dull, boring reality. My frame of mind was so crazy that I couldn’t bear the sight of modern cars (as they couldn’t fly in the air), I couldn’t listen to all the dull talk about finding a boring (but profitable) job, good marriages, raising children, or about divorces at the appropriate moment. Many of my acquaintances and friends were at one I had probably jumped over the fence of a mental hospital from the inside, as I couldn’t watch any football, baseball, basketball, etc games (the only sport which still can attract my attention for hours on end is surfing), or I felt talking about the qualities of different cars and bikes was equal to suicide… Most of the people couldn’t believe instead of that I preferred to watch shows like Star Trek, documentaries about dinosaurs, interesting facts about history and science, movies about fairy-tales or space, etc.
Yet, later on I realized that such a frame of mind is a certain evidence of a narrow mind (the same as watching and being interested only in soap operas or cars, or sport). After reading some manuals about the mechanism of modern cars (and seeing what was written there was true), I was convinced all these vehicles were as interesting as the coolest space ships and other imaginary machines from the future. When I learned a thing or two about what was inside TV sets and computers (and all the amazing things one could do with these great devices), I realized the famous Terry Pratchett’s words were true: “There is much more Magic in a modern computer than in any gathering of witches.” As to the opinion that the people of today think only about money, power, or more money and power, and are incapable of strong feeling one could find only in fairy-tales like everlasting love, I remember a few events of today that prove the opposite:
A young woman loved her HIV+ boyfriend so much that she infected herself too with AIDS virus, so that they could be together forever. Or the sad story of two youngsters from my native country Bulgaria who suicided themselves jumping under the wheels of a train (as their parents were against their relationship as the boy was a gipsy). Besides, the many wise quotes and thoughts of many writers, philosophers or even politicians of today show wisdom is present in reality too, no only in some imaginary worlds and societies from fantasy, sci-fi genres: Arthur C. Clarke's "Third Law": Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be ~ Thomas à Kempis
The one who asks is stupid 5 minutes, the one who doesn't is stupid for life. Chinesse saying.
A mind at peace, a mind centered and not focused on harming others, is stronger than any physical force of the universe. Wayne Dyer
One's destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things ~Henry Miller
Always when judging Who people are, Remember to footnote The words "So far." ~ Robert Brault
A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. Albert Einstein
Love blinds us to faults, hatred to virtues." - Moses Ibn Ezra
It is wonderful how much time good people spend fighting the devil. If they would only expend the same amount of energy loving their fellow men, the devil would die in his own tracks of ennui."[Helen Keller]
You don't need superpowers to be a hero."- via Jeremy Smith FB
The truth is that there is nothing noble in being superior to somebody else. The only real nobility is in being superior to your former self. - Whitney Young
."Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck. Your profession is what you were put on earth to do. With such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling."-- Vincent Van Gogh
Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward ~ Chinese Proverb
"To go against human nature is the most human thing a human can do." Larry Niven
Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people."
"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." -Albert Einstein
If you can't laugh at yourself, life's gonna seem a whole lot longer than you like. - natalie portman in garden state
'Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted' - John Lennon
it's okay when we fear the dark, but not when we are afraid of light.
“The greatest wisdom is to realize one's lack of it” Konstantin Stanislavsky
The most wasted of all days is one without laughter ~ E E Cummings
DO NOT RISK GOING THROUGH LIFE WITHOUT TAKING A RISK. Jimmy KoMet FB
"A loan can be repaid, but for a gift one is always beholden."~ unknown source
."You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war." -Albert Einstein.
"Every society honours its live conformists and its dead troublemakers" Zvonimir Tosic via Linda Goodwin
SENSITIVITY is a strength and it's a mad world that turns it into a weakness.
You know you're an asshole when the voices in your head refuse to talk to you. Author Luke Romyn
Let us live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry. - Mark Twain
Human beings make life so interesting. Do you know, that in a universe so full of wonders, they have managed to invent boredom. -Death, To Suzie in 'The Hogfather',
There are many kinds of joy, but they all lead to one – the joy to be loved. Michael Ende,
All the problems in the world leadto one - narrow-minded people, from my future Incredible Fututue. etc…
The list could be so long that anyone would find it really difficult to read it all… I guess we are just too accustomed to our present world and forget to see the wonderful magical things that surround us? No one could oppose to that, right?
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg, http://allanbard.hpage.com,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qUA8Avl7ew, http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/ivanstoikov.allanbard

The best birthday wishes, parties, presents, guests, etc you’ve experienced, seen or heard…

2011-10-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

No matter what we are told or have heard, our birthdays are among the best feasts. Even those who hate all the preparations or wonderings who to invite or not would admit the sweet fever, while waiting to see what presents they will have or the gratitude of the guests because of the nice party, could be amongst the best memories one could have.
In every country, I guess, there are different ways to celebrate the birthdays, but what they all have in common is the fun of the unusual events, presents, guests, wishes, meals, places where to celebrate, costumes to wear, etc. I remember many funny birthday presents, wishes, customs, etc I’ve heard, seen or read about over the years. Like the one in Alice In Wonderland, where all the creatures celebrated their non-birthdays too (all the rest of the days in the year, except the birthday). Or the one in another book, where the character claimed he didn’t have a birthday, as he had been born in the night. Or the peculiar but too dangerous custom from a future book of mine to find a dragon to light the candles of the birthday cake (that’s the most certain way to make your birthday wishes come true), etc.
The good presents I received over the years were a lot as far as I remember, but I will always remember two of them: a brand new, very expensive camera for an ex-communist country, and an expensive watch from the famous BVLGARI brand. Though the greatest presents are of the kind that cannot be bought with money, these were given wholeheartedly, so they were not so different from the other priceless presents…;). What about your experience? I guess anyone could add a thing or two…
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hpage.com, http://allanbard.hit.bg,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qUA8Avl7ew, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08HTXf00CJ0, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmVW4-030Yc
http://www.shelfari.com/allanbard, myspace.com/ivan_allanbard, http://www.facebook.com/ivanstoikov.allanbard

Some thoughts about religious fanatics like Anderch Breivick.

2011-09-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

Some thoughts about religious fanatics like Anderch Braivick.
I know this post/note is a little late, but the issue is too important to just ignore it or forget the awful events that lead to the death of about ninety innocent youngsters. A. Braivick is not the first religious fanatic, who actually has nothing in common with religion and its virtues and who kills “in the name of a better future”, and unfortunately probably won’t be the last. I guess everyone could understand his anger caused by the irresponsible behavior of his parents and sister (and probably of many of his friends and compatriots too who had a lot of dangerous sexual contacts that led to diseases and health problems). Yet, only a fanatic idiot could understand why this anger had to be the cause for such a terrible act. Probably a lot of people, including me, wonder whether this or any other religious moron have read the Bible or Quran, or if they did whether they understood any of the messages written there? Before any act that includes murder of even one innocent man or woman, these “religious” idiots have to think what would Jesus Christ or Mohamed do in such occasions? Would they kill or would just use the many other more effective methods to show people what’s wrong? Like creating a web-site with a lot of info about the awful consequences of not following God’s orders? Or creating a group of really religious people at social sites like facebook, myspace, sodahead, etc. that could really help people realize the virtues God and his followers tried to show us in holly books like the Bible and Quran?
I’m sure there are many other similar and painless ways for that, which would lead to much better results, namely a change in people’s minds and behavior… Of course such results wouldn’t come right away, but would be much better as they wouldn’t involve any killings. They will be quite the opposite of the results after A. Braivick’s horrible massacre, because now many people will despise the Bible and religion since they could be the cause for so many horrible losses…
There are many wise thoughts which show such narrow-minded idiots like Braivick have been present in humans’ history a lot of times. Thoughts and quotes which all the religious fanatics have to put over their beds and think over them every day:
I like your Christ but I don’t like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. Mahatma Ghandi.
I have nothing against God, it’s his fan club I can’t stand. not sure about the author.
With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. – Steven Weinberg
And I couldn’t refrain from posting a quote or two from my books too, as they are true I guess and could also help the religious fanatics realize how wrong they are:
All the problems in the world lead to one – narrow-minded people. my Incredible Future.
As strange as it may sound, the people who are following God’s orders are mostly non-believers. my The Origin Of Gods.
I'm not sure whether fanatics like A. Breivick will read this but hope some normal people will do and will share it with some of them to change their frame of mind...
http://allanbard.hpage.com, www.allanbard.wordpress.com

Repeating old quotes, wisdom in books, stories, movies, etc.

2011-08-23T15:11:00.000-07:00

I guess in almost every book, no matter whether it is a romantic story, thriller, mystery, drama, sci-fi, fantasy or a combination of some genres, there are some wise, eternal thoughts. And there are so many published books already, plus the enormous quantity of the new books published every year, that probably today no one could think up something new. Yet, this truth should be more encouraging than disturbing. Repeating old, well-known quotes could be done using new facts and discoveries, so they could become more attractive, memorable and impressive. Or the same result could be achieved with a new way to express a quote?
What J. K. Rowling used in her first Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone (To a well-organized mind, death is just another big adventure.) is the old quote of Peter Pan: To die will be an awfully big adventure, from J. M. Barrie's book. Yet, her quote is deeper and more serious as it seems?
I guess many people have heard or read the old legend of the North American Indians: ‘There are a bad and a good wolf in any human’s soul that are in constant fight. The one you feed will be the winner…?” I used something similar in a book of mine but with new scientific “prove” and fact: “Even in the hottest fire there’s a bit of water.” The meaning is similar but the bit of science and facts could make a quote like this more useful? That way one could learn not only some wisdom but some physics too.
Books, stories and movies could be used to also repeat the wisdom of the old philosophical teachings and systems. Using a new, more simple and efficient way to reveal such wisdom could make them much more popular. Do you remember Pay It Forward? A movie/book about what a wonderful world we would live in if we really helped one another… Exactly what Christian, Muslim and many other religions in their origins were trying to show us too. There are many wise thoughts in many other movies, cartoons, etc. All of them are not just said in these movies, but are “backed up” with a lot of events, adventures, etc, so one could really understand their meaning. If you watched Samurai Jack for example, you’ll remember how much of the ancient Japanese wisdom one could see and hear there: The one who runs with aggression walks without dignity, You’ll never ne able to win unless you defeat yourself first, The one who wears a mask cannot see what hidden inside of him, etc. There’s a famous, ancient Bulgarian saying: Every evil leads to something good. I can’t remember the equivalent in English, but I do remember that the events in The Lord Of The Rings showed how much truth it contains. Remember that Gollum, one of the most treacherous and evil beings, was the one who destroyed the ring of power and actually saved the ancient Earth? I guess every author must strive to show this wisdom in his/her works, I strive to do that in every book of mine too, I hope I did it well in my Tale Of The Rock Pieces, “repeating” the wisdom of The Lord Of The Rings – One can fight money only with money. I hope too I’ll be able to show some of eternal Buddhism’s wisdom in my soon to come The Opposite Of Magic, namely the importance of balance in life…
I guess the list is as long and enormous as the Universe itself…;).
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, http://allanbard.wordpress.com, http://www.myspace.com/ivan_allanbard, http://www.facebook.comivanstoikov.allanbard
http://www.twitter.com/allanbard

The best way for education.

2011-08-01T14:52:00.000-07:00

All the students I know hate going to school no matter where they have to graduate or attend their classes… All the school-boys and school-girls I knew in the past, when I had to go and spent a lot of hours in the most hated, grey building in the neighborhood, had the same “kind” thoughts. I bet all the students in the future will despise too any minute in the dull classes, while they are waiting in despair for their turn for exam and grades, well-deserved or not…
And though many people would point out many reasons for this hatred (the awful bullying of the stronger and older students, boring and narrow-minded teachers, the long classes, etc), I guess the main cause for the students’ disgust is the dull, boring way all the subjects are thought. If you think I’m wrong, just remember some quotes of some great minds: Don’t let school ruin your education. Mark Twain, or It’s a miracle that curiosity survives the formal education. A. Einstein.
I’m certain that many other people think like me, there are many evidences about that. For example, I remember a movie (but not its title, sorry) where a teacher tried some new, funny methods to teach his students. To attract their attention, and make them silent and listening to his lessons, he promised them they’ll see him vomit as at every 15-20 seconds while they were silent and listening, he would drink one small box of chocolate milk… Then, he thought up a rap song with the names of all the presidents of USA and all the important dates in history… All the students found out studying could be fun too and finally became the best students in their school with the highest grades at the exams at the end of the year!
This was just a movie of course, and almost everything was exaggerated, but I could give other similar examples from real life. In the past, a friend of mine was so fascinated by Rocky, the first movie about the famous boxer, that he woke up at 6 o’clock every morning before school and ran and trained his body for about an hour just because he wanted to be like his hero from the movie. That was actually something which no teacher or good manual could make him do before that!
Another good example of the power of the funny and better way for education and inspiration were two kids of a friend of mine. They were so fascinated when I told them my first Tale Of The Rock Pieces, that they began to do exercises every day and didn’t do all the stupid things their coevals did like smoking of cigarettes and drinking strong drinks. Even today, when they are shrewd youngsters, they still take a good care of their health and like to read and learn all the interesting facts about animals and plants’ life and remember my story... The reason for all this good behavior and inspiration of theirs were the many incredible adventures in my book and the excellent way of life of my heroes, or the interesting facts about animals and plants… I guess I don’t have to write here that no teacher of theirs was able to inspire them that way, no matter how hard they tried and what good reasons they showed them to follow their teachings…
I guess anyone could point out many similar examples and that many teachers could use such good methods like good adventure stories or movies in their classes for really good results?
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg, htpp://allanbard.hpage.com,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI,
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/ivanstoikov.allanbard

Good, sad, or real ends of stories.

2011-06-21T02:27:00.000-07:00

It’s a well-known fact that all the Hollywood movies have a happy end that makes them the most preferable all over the world. On the other hand, most of the movies Bollywood, India produces are so sad that usually at the end all the people in the movie hall are crying. Yet, these sad ends are not an obstacle at all for Bollywood to make more movies than the other countries in the world. And they are well-known and appreciated all over the world too. I guess many people would say such sad movies should be forbidden as they could provoke suicidal thoughts or at least make people so gloomy that they couldn’t do their obligations, tasks well enough, or ruin their education, better qualifications, or even destroy the ability to make the right choices in life…
Yet, I’m certain there would be many people who would be really frustrated if all the movies and books had happy ends. When something is repeated over and over again, finally it becomes so dull that it cannot do its real purpose… In the case with movies and books, entertain, show wisdom, make us become more responsible or change our attitude and frame of mind, etc. Many books and movies, even of the fantasy and sci-fi genres, should have to reveal such plots, events, adventures and ends that are as close to reality as possible. Then, I guess everyone would agree, they would be really useful for solving the problems in our every day life. Of course, it doesn’t mean all the books and movies have to follow only that pattern. There should be variety in plots, beginnings, events and ends of the stories. As to look more “real”, some of them have to have happy ends, as The Light Fantastic of Terry Pratchett, or his Carpe Jigulum, or J. R. Tolkien’s The Lord Of the Rings, Others, like A. Exupery’s Little Prince, M. Crithon’s Jurassic Park, some of Star Wars’ episodes, etc, probably wouldn’t be so good if they had a happy end. The list goes on I guess, that’s why I used all the variations in some of my books (Tale Of The Rock Pieces – happy end after a lot of horrible adventures, The Opposite Of Magic – happy end to some extent but actually a lot sadder, sad or actually real story and end in my The Lord Of Christ, and happiest end for my Kids’ Funny Business, etc). I guess every writer, reader, movie fan could continue the list with good, sad and real ends of books and movies?
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg, http://allanbard.hpage.com,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ijJl-6Be88

Combining genres...

2011-05-17T05:29:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago I saw an interview of an author who claimed his works couldn’t be categorized just in one genre. Though many of the critics and readers were saying he was writing fantasy, he still claimed his stories couldn’t just be “put” amongst the books with fairies, kings, princesses, wizards, and other magical creatures. Some of them combined both the magical and our modern world, describing everlasting problems and issues (like greed, striving for power, right or wrong policy, or meaning of life, etc). So, there were not just amazing magical sights, events, creatures, battles, etc. but also a lot of philosophy, drama, even romance and humor, or suspense.
Actually, I would say many books’ stories deserve to be amongst those that combine genres. For example in The Lord Of The Rings, along with the many battles, fierce creatures and glorious sights, there are a lot of philosophy, drama and problems that will probably be always actual in our history. There is much of philosophy too and a lot of the criminal genre along with the amazing sport of the wizards and all the breath-taking events in the books about Harry Potter. No one can deny there’s a lot of romance in Twilight series, along with all the nasty or kind-hearted vampires. Many of Terry Pratchett’s books are a perfect combination of humor, philosophy, fantasy and sci-fi. I guess there are a lot of other books that “follow” the same rule?
All these I mentioned are well-known bestsellers all over the world. I guess one of the main reasons for that is exactly the combining of genres. Which “provides” not only the excitement of the fantasy, sci-fy worlds, but also the wisdom , quotes and seriousness of the modern fiction, drama, or philosophical works.
I would also claim all these books follow Buddhists’ quotes that the middle way is the best. There is balance between genres in many of them, balance which even Buddha himself would appreciate. Well, many people would say almost all books (especially fantasy and sci-fi works) include more than one genre. When I had a “closer look” at my stories, I realized too that involuntarily I did a good job many times combining fantasy and sci-fi with romance, drama, philosophy, suspense, even humor or interesting facts about animals, plants, space (i. e. some science). I guess everyone know what a great influence books could have on our minds, behavior, way of life, etc. (just for example, one of the main reasons why the ozone layer is still whole was Flesh, a small book of about 180 pages). That’s why I guess every author must combine genres to create better stories?
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg, htpp://allanbard.hpage.com,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ijJl-6Be88,

Difference between professional and amateur illustrations and covers.

2011-04-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I read a post about how awful amateur illustrations and covers of books are. So, I couldn’t refrain from posting my thoughts and opinion too.
A friend of mine who is a graduate in book-publishing once told me that in the industry it is a well-known fact that the worst illustrations were made by professional artists. At first I was surprised to hear that, but then remembered my personal experience and realized she was right. When I was a kid, I was really frustrated by the illustrations in The Hobbit for example (the Bulgarian edition I mean). Bilbo Baggings looked so mean and greedy as if he wanted to kill all the dwarves and steal Smog’s all treasure. Orcs were so skinny and disproportionate that I was wondering how they could stand on their feet, let alone fight. The dragon Smog had so small wings that compared to them even T. Rex’s rudimental paws looked big… Almost all the illustrations had very little in common with the story! They looked that way as if the illustrator took the characters from another book and used them in J.R. Tolkien’s story… Though the illustrator was a professional artist…
I guess many of the other readers and writers could share such examples too? And many of them would agree with my opinion that for some of my books many authors must use their own illustrations? I guess if I hired a professional artist for some of my works then probably my Mountaineers would be clean-shaven, the mermaids’ hair would get wet all the time, the Brown faces would look like the Afro-Americans of today (and all the readers and critics would accuse me of being racist), etc. Of course, every rule has its exceptions, there are amateur illustrations and covers that look awful. But I’m certain all the readers and critics, writers have similar experience like mine with many professional artists’ works?
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hpage.com, http://allanbard.hit.bg,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI,
http://www.shelfari.com/allanbard, myspace.com/ivan_allanbard, http://www.facebook.com/ivanstoikov.allanbard

Typical, old characters vs. new, unseen and unknown in the fantasy, sci-fy genres.

2011-03-21T14:30:00.000-07:00

Usually, the presence of wizards with sharp hats, fire-breathing dragons, princesses, powerful kings, vampires, elves, dwarfs, little green men, etc is a certain evidence we read a fantasy/sci-fy story or watch a movie of the same genres. There are amazing books and pictures with all these characters, yet what makes them amazing is mostly the good plot and thoughts. Thoughts we could use in any period (past, present or future) of our history.
Yet, though these typical characters bring additional „colour” to the story, I guess they are too ordinary already? Almost as ordinary as the creatures and characters we see everyday: dogs, cats, horses, skillfull people in the army, cold-hearted politicians and other men in power, etc. Almost every book in fantasy/sci-fy genres describe these typical beings, that’s why I think we authors should strive to create new creatures and characters which nobody have ever seen or heard of. I guess any reader or writer would agree with that? New, unseen beings would seem much more interesting than the classical and would intrigue the readers much better? Beings like weightless korks (flying creatures with eliptical shape, some sort of intelligent worms, with no eyes but able to perfectly orientate by the revertebrated sound and to change their colour fast and so perfectly that people and other predators could hardly see them even flying on different backgrounds); fish-keepers (big, extremely evil and cunning fish that could fulfill perfectly well their tasks, namely to guard the sunken treasures and prescious objects); rock pieces (one of the most ancient rational beings that could wield the Magic, long time ago they had been of flesh and blood and lived in almost all the ancient seas and oceans, but after they were killed by the evil human races the long years in the ground made them creatures of stone); Brown faces (the most evil human race, in the remote past all of them had fair skin but their sinister intentions and deeds bit by bit made their bodies and faces as brown and cracked as the bark of a mulberry tree… yet, the most scary thing was not their sinister and ugly faces but their extremely evil thoughts and strivings to own and conquer everything and everybody, which probably was the reason that they took part in all the wars and battles in antiquity); glowing, living balls (tender, kind-hearted and noble creatures living in the waters of the ancient lakes, rivers and seas, as intelligent as humans, though their language was very peculiar, only mermaids could understand their squeaks, besides they could change shape fast and swim at lightning speed when they had to escape the predators or move to better water areas); night fruit (big, green balls that could grow and appear on every tree or other plant, only if an ancient wizard lived near... these fruit were formed by Magic, so they contained almost everything a human body needed, their only disadvantage was that they had to be picked only in the night, otherwise they melted and became rotten and bad for health); Mountaineers (in antiquity there were not only noble animals but noble human races too, the Mountaineers were the most noble among them, only they could become and train wizards as they knew what they had to do to wield the Magic because they could understand the real nature of this most perfect state of matter, every single thought, deed, act of theirs formed a part of the incredible Magic, so they could do and make anything we could imagine, their magnificent civilization was so advanced that in some ways we wouldn’t reach their level of skills and knowledge even after thousands of years...).
I guess new creatures, characters like these could bring new excitement, thrills, or even plots and wisdom in the genre?
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg, http://allanbard.hpage.com,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, http://allanbard.blogspot.com, http://www.myspace.com/ivan_allanbard, http://www.facebook.com/ivanstoikov.allanbard, http://www.allanbard.wordpress.com

Why should we respect bearded people...

2011-02-01T17:04:00.000-08:00

I’m certain that about 90 % of people will consider this post crazy and stupid ;)... Yet, I guess they all could read it to see my point ? As far as I know statistics show that only about 10 % (or a bit more) of people appreciate beards and moustaches. My personal expereince show that if all the people who told me I had to be clean-shaven join hands, then they would probably make a ring around the equator of Jupiter ;). I will not claim that all the men should be like many great and famous people who have/had beards and moustaches. I wouild just point out what many people before our time thought about beards – it was „a certain evidence” of greatness, power, nobility and ancient way of thinking/life? I don’t want to claim too that everything in antiquity was perfect but imagine what a wonderful world we would live in if we followed some ancient thoughts and rules... All the couples would live together forever, there wouldn’t be divorces and sad kids, people would pay more attention to wisdom than to idle talk... Of course, I don’t mean wearing beards and moustaches could prevent that, I just think we should respect bearded men as a sign of nobelty, inner strength or even creativity and great imagination too.
Probably all the readers who still think this is stupid should remember all those amazing things bearded men created in the past or are creating now. Jesus Christ’s sacrifice is praised all over the world, the works of Lev Tolstoy, Ernest Hemingway, Paolo Coehlo, Terry Pratchett, the movies of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Fransis Copola, the songs of Willie Nelson, Luciano Pavarotti, etc will always be remembered. After that, I hope even those who cannot stand the sight of beards and moustaches, together with many of my friends, will agree that I’m right to create in some of my books my Mountaineers (the most noble human race that has ever existed on Earth) like some of the great bearded men we know. I guess all the people who read my blog, or had a look at my sites, stories would agree I was right to choose such an appearance for people who could dive in the cold waters of mountain lakes in the middle of a severe winter, or create anything from scratch, dust, mud, etc. using their magical skills, who could rejuvenate any old man or woman, or made the most noble sacrifice in the name of humanity, good causes, etc...
I hope also that anyone could understand why I say/write to anyone with a beard and moustaches I meet even via web that they must be very proud of their appearance and never shave... As beards and moustaches are the appearance of many great people and my ancient Mountaineers, the only human race that could train and become wizards in antiquity...
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg, http://allanbard.hpage.com,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, http://allanbard.blogspot.com, http://www.myspace.com/ivan_allanbard, http://www.facebook.com/ivanstoikov.allanbard, http://www.allanbard.wordpress.com

Why modern fairy-tales are better than the old, classical...

2010-12-26T14:45:00.000-08:00

Probably only some people will agree with me about this... Many of them like only the classical fairy-tales like Little Red Riding Hood, Snow-White And The Seven Dwarves, Puss In Boots, etc. just because they remind them of their childhood. They even forbid their kids to read books like Harry Potter, Peter Pan, The Hobbit, Alice In Wonderland, or The Wizard Of Oz. I guess it's a certain evidence of "narrow-mindedness", because they just can't realize these modern tales combine not only amazing events, incredible creatures, or breath-taking battles and deeds. They also show us many good ways to deal with everlasting problems, problems we have today, had in the past too, or will have in the future...
They show us how useless and stupid it is to be a racis (remember how useless it was to name H. Grainger a mud-blood in Harry Potter books, she was one of the best students Hogwarts had ever seen), to care only about our own well-being (in the battle between good and evil in Bring me The Head Of Prince Charming where the good won the contest just because being evil was stupid and the good creatures helped much more the evil contestants than any other evil doers did), or the true meaning of words like love (I hope I showed well enough what the real, unudultered love can do in my Tale Of The Rock Pieces), good, evil, truth, lies... Meanwhile, what mopst of the classical fairy-tales deal with is finding of enormous treasures, or good, profitable marriages. I’m not sure whether it’s a good comparison, but I guess old fairy-tales were the equivalent of soap operas in the past when there was no TV, Internet? So, I guess the difference between a TV soap opera of 1000 meaningless episodes and an Oscar nominee like Schilndler’s List, The Fisher King, Rain-man, or The Slumdog Billionaire...
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg, http://allanbard.hpage.com,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, http://allanbard.blogspot.com, http://www.myspace.com/ivan_allanbard, http://www.facebook.com/ivanstoikov.allanbard
http://allanbard.wordpress.com

aren't you fed up with stupidity in the streets?

2010-09-27T15:31:00.000-07:00

I guess everyone have seen "wise" headlines on T-shirts, fridge magnets, etc? Headlines like: My boyfriend kisses better than yours, or FBI - Female Body Inspector?
Don't you think not everything we should think of should be about sex? I guess it would be much better if we see more good, inspirational thoughts, or nice pictures of mythical creatures, or other funny quotes, photos etc. that don't include only sex... If you want to know my opinion, everyone could help about that using sites like zazzle.com, cafepress.com, fiverr, etc. There any user could create T-shirts, stickers, cups, fridge magnets, etc. with his/her own design, then share his/her work with family/friends/world... Join me, I'm allanbard there, you'll see what I mean. I usually use some of my photos, quotes or illustrations from my books, or other wise thoughts, which most of population on Earth would find interesting, inspiring, or even useful. Thoughts like:

The fabled musk deer searches the world over for the source of the scent which comes from itself. Ramakrishna
When Injustice becomes law, rebelion becomes duty.
One can fight money only with money... my Tale Of The Rock Pieces.
Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be ~ Thomas à Kempis
The one who asks is stupid 5 minutes, the one who doesn't is stupid for life. Chinesse saying.
One of the greatest delusions of mankind is that men are superior to animals... my The Opposite Of Magic.
Love can be used for good or ill, but hatred leads only to destruction.
"The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic."- Josef Stalin
In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins- not through strength but by perseverance. ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
All the problems in the world lead to one - narrow-minded people... my Incredible Future.

the best job ever...

2010-09-27T14:59:00.000-07:00

Many of my friends, acquaintances, relatives etc. complain what they do for living is boring, dull and is "kïlling" them bit by bit. All of them explain they are forced to do that for the sake of the good salary or some other benefits (beautiful colleagues, long vacations, many bonuses on different occasions, etc.). When I explain what it means to be a writer, they usually don't believe their ears... It seems it's hard for anyone who has never written a book, short story, or even an article, to realize the amazing experience one could have creating some great adventures, breath-taking plots,
or the glorious wisdom of wise thoughts, the thoughts that made nations or many people set deep in thought. It seems it's hard for most people too to realize writing of books is connected to every job, activity, hobby one could think of or imagine. It depends on the book a writer writes of course, but actually even a "stupid" love story could include interesting facts, useful tips, or breath-taking adventures, or amazing writing skills, which make the story incredible. All these could make any writer's life a real adventure, without anything like dull time, unhappy thoughts, and attempts to suicide oneself because of meaningless existence...
These are not just my thoughts and experience I remember a saying of an ancient wiseman (Chinese I guess, can't remember his name): Find a job you like and you'll never work again in your life. I don't know whether he was a writer in the meaning we use today, but this is quite an acceptable explanation. I remember another thought, which some other writers used , including me in my next book The Opposite Of Magic, and which shows the incredible job, experience, or way of life writing of books could be: Oftentimes, the fictional stories are more true than the real...
There are many other "benefits" about writing. Writing a story, any writer could become a real expert in many fields. To describe something well enough, one has to "experience" it, to know perfectly well every detail about it. Many writers usually prepare for the writing of a book a few months or even years, collecting information, learning a lot of new things, creating amazing new worlds, or "making" new friends (actually, the best friends one could have are amongst the fictional characters in the books, as they could be whatever the writer wants ;)... I can still "talk" with some of my characters from my Tale Of The Rock Pieces or The Opposite Of Magic for example, and "ask" them about their opinions about things from my next books...;) So, a writer would never be bored writing a good story.
Of course, usually writing is considered "thankless" work. After spending some years collecting information and writing a good story, there's no guarantee that the book will be a bestseller... As far as I know only about ten percent of the published books are "well-rewarded". However, it doesn't mean that the other benefits disappear because of this statistic...
I guess I'm not the only one with the same frame of mind and thoughts? Your opinions, please?

the most serious genre.

2010-06-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

I guess this topic has so many answers that they wouldn't "fit" in a blog post... Many people would say stories about everyday's life (marriage, having kids and teaching them of good manners, or about the horrible divorces that destroy many kids and parents' life) are amongst the things everyone must put under the pillows or over the beds. Of course, some other people would claim to put books or other products about "How to..." themes amongst the five things they would take on a desert island. According to their opinion, these books are the best helpers in everyday's life, showing us which are the best ways to deal with an ex-boy/girl-friend, how to make useful objects out of scrap, or train our mind to remember all we need (or don't need) to know in life, etc.
Actually, they all are right to some extent... I don't mean these books, movies, etc. couldn't be useful in many cases. Yet, it doesn't mean they should be worshiped so much that their titles should replace everything else in the front pages of newspapers or in all the appropriate comercials. But I guess anyone would agree a reader couldn't find more wisdom in any other genre than in fantasy or sci-fy books. Wisdom that oftentimes is eternal, i. e. it's actual for any time of our history and could help us solve any problems in the future too. Where else one could find such good thoughts but in fantasy or sci-fy stories:
The first step to correct a mistake is patience. Clone Wars.
You'll never be able to win, unless you defeat yourself first. Samurai Jack.
Oftentimes it's harder to accpet help than offering. Clone Wars.
The one who runs with aggression walks without dignity. Samurai Jack.
It's our choices, far more than our abilities, that show us who we really are. J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets.
One could fight money only with money. my Tale Of The Rock Pieces.
To die will be an awfully big adventure. Peter Pan.
Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering... master Yoda, The Phantom Menace.
Even in the hottest fire there's a bit of water. my The Opposite Of Magic.
If there isn't Santa Claus, the sun won't rise. There will just be a giant ball of hot gasses. Terry Pratchett's Hogfather.
All the problems in the world lead to one - narrow-minded people. my Incredible Future.
Of course, many of the sci-fy, fantasy novels, movies, etc. include much action, many battle scenes, wierd creatures etc. that "hide" the wisdom in these stories... Probably that's why they usually don't win Oscars for something else but special effects (with a few exceptions - The Lord Of The Rings - Return Of The King).
Yet, it doesn’t mean the useful and important lessons aren’t there. We just have to learn not only to watch the special effects, the amazing battle scenes or creatures, but to think over the glorious thoughts and wisdom we could find there. As they could really make our present and future world better.
Finally, I’ll just give an example of the great power of such stories. Flesh, a book of about 150-180 pages, describing a future after we destroyed the ozon layer, made USA government change its policy about the harmful emisions. So, this small book was one of the main reasons we still exist.
I guess many readers could give similar examples? Best wishes to all fans of fantasy and sci-fy!

http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hpage.com, http://allanbard.hit.bg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, http://allanbard.blogspot.com, http://www.myspace.com/ivan_allanbard, http://www.facebook.comivanstoikov.allanbard

the easy/hard writing and the many skills and things any author should have and know

2010-04-22T16:04:00.000-07:00

Most of the people think the most important skills for any author should be the good knowledge of the language, the good writing skills, or the good imagination. But I guess any writer would say these are just some of the basic skills. The writing of any book requires much other information, many other skills that are connected to that information. For example, if a writer writes a book describing a fierce battle with swords, he or she has to be familiar with many (or all) of sword battle techniques... or even has to "take part" in such a battle, may be even more than once... That way the description of such events in the book will be really amazing (and true at the same time).
Books could be also a way to educate anyone. Any author use much information in his/her books, and in most cases that requires months or even years of research and collecting of useful information for creating new facts, thoughts and plots. Sometimes, this could be very hard, even harder than any physical work or activity, like digging of channels with a spade...
Few people realize what a great and hard work the writing of a book requires. Bernard Werber read and collected information about his “Ants” novel about a year, then used just about 18 % of the read facts. John Grisham uses his years of studying law and practice to write his bestsellers in the best possible way.
I’m sure any author could name a lot of similar examples? As for me, my hair stand on end when I remember how many books (the Bible, Quran, many books and a lot of information about octopuses, enormous quantities of facts about antiquity, etc.) I must read just about one of my future books – “The Lord Of The Christ”…
I feel almost the same, when I remember that I have to learn how to dance exactly like Michael Jackson for another book of mine – "Lake Mystery"… Or the fact that I will have to become a bodybuilder and learn all the details about bodybuilding to write my "Incredible Future"…
I’ll be glad to hear some other opinions from other writers, editors, or readers about the hard/easy writing and the hard/easy ways to create these incredible things we call books…

http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hpage.com, http://allanbard.hit.bg,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI

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2010-04-20T00:45:00.000-07:00

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jokes that could make anyone's day or evening/night better...;)

2010-04-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

There are many important and serious things in the world, but to cope with them anyone needs to laugh from time to time, don't you think so too?:

A cop stopped a driver who was driving with high speed, but as the driver had no money he offered to ask the cop a question and if the cop couldn't answer he would go without paying a cent. The cop said "OK", so the driver said: In which month a woman is most pregnant? The cop thought and thought, but couldn't remember and answer, so the driver told him in the ninth and left. But the cop said to himself: I've lost some money, but I'll use what I've learnt to gain some too... He went to one of his colleagues and asked him the same question, explaining if he couldn't answer he should pay him. The other one thought and thought but couldn't answer too, so the first cop said contentedly: It's in September, stupid!

A boy and a mother walk on the street on the way home and the boy asks her all the time "Buy me a bycicle, buy me a bycicle..." Finally the mother gets angry and says "Shut up and let's go home!" When they get home the boy says "let's play we are family, you'll be my wife I'll be the man of the house who's coming back from work and you are resting on the coach." "OK" sais the mother. After a while the boy comes dressed as his father, gave an angry look at his mother and shouts: "Why are you lying, silly bitch? Get up right now and buy our boy a bycicle!"...

A mother rabbit with her children saw a drunk hunter in the forest and said to her children: "Close your ears right now! Now the hunter won't hit us with his gun and he'll began to curse in such an awful way..."

Do you know what's more awful than an elephant in china shop? A hedgehog in a shop for condoms... An elephant ran away from the zoo, went to a garden and started eating cabbages. A woman who was the owner of the garden saw him and called the zoo right away: "Hello, there's a giant mouse in my garden, it grabs cabbages with her tail and don't ask me where it thrusts them after that..."

What is that TRUST? When two canibals make sex using pose 69...

While a falling star was falling a school-boy wasn't very sure what he had to wish, so in the next day he received a bike with bosoms...

In a class-room an inspector seats by a boy, while the young female teacher drops her piece of chalk, bends that way her ass is seen, then stands up and asks nodding toward the black board: "What do we see hear?" The boy sitting next to the inspector says right away: "One cool ass!" The teacher tells him to leave the classroom immediately, but at the door the boy turns his head and asks the inspector: "Why you tell the answer when you don't know?..."

In the middle of a rainy night a young couple sleeping in their appartment heard a ringing at the door. The man got up, opened the door and saw a wet man who asked him: "Please, come to push me, my friend!" "Get lost!" said the man of the house and slammed the door. But his wife told him: "Shame on you! Remember a month ago when our car was out of order how a friendly man helped us?... Go and do the same for this poor guy!" The man got out of the appartment, and shouted out: "OK, I'll push you, where are you?" "I'm right here!" answered the wet guy. "On the kids' swing..."

The big bad wolf walked in the forest and looked around him fiercely, and a drunk rabbit saw him and began to annoy him: "I'll beat you black and blue, wolf, I'll tear you apart! Come closer, or you are a chicken?" The wolf gave a deep sigh: "If only my dentist didn't forbid me to eat anything for two hours, I would let you know what for..."

A kid saw his parents while they were having sex, and said to himself immediately: "Well, well, well! And these guys don't let me stick my fingers in my nose???"

2 cowboys saw a reward is given to anyone who brings a scapl of an Indian. Travelling in the prairie they saw an old, alone Indian, killed him and took his scalp. Then made a camp and spent the night there. In the morning one of them got out of their tent and saw their camp was surrounded by 100-200 hundreds Indians, all of them painted in the war colours, watching fiercely, holding many weapons... And the cowboy entered into the tent right away, kicked his friend and shouted: "Get up, John! We are rich..."

What a gypsi can do when one gives him a computer? He starts to search in the Recycle Bin...

A group of tourists in the mountain saw an eagle flew with a white sheep, put her in a herd of sheep and took a black one. Perplexed the tourists asked the sheperd what was going on. "Nothing unusual." said the sheperd. "We play chess with the eagle and this time he plays with the white figures..."

A man was at a party and as he was drunk he chose a girl and went to his house with her. But when they get there he became suspicious and asked her: "How old are you?" "13" said the girl. "Go home right now!" the man said frightened. "Well, well, how supersticious you are..." replied the girl.

A man had to punish his parrot because the bird was joking and had made a phone call and had ordered a ton of naphtha to be poured in his bathroom. So the man nailed him on the back of a Christ figure with Jesus on the other side. "You'll stay here for 2 weeks!" declared the man. After some time the parrot turned his head and asked Jesus: "Since when you stay here, dude?" "2000 years..." sighed Jesus. "WOW! What a quantity of naphtha you ordered!..."

An advertisement of the zoo: The Rhino from our zoo escaped!!! Please, if you see him, give two dollars to the lady at the entrance...

Hope these anecdotes could make anyone's day or evening look better?

http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hpage.com, http://allanbard.hit.bg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI, http://allanbard.blogspot.com

books as a way to lead a healthy life

2010-04-01T13:59:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of books about diets, exercises for the human bodies and minds, or for other ways and principles to lead a healthy life. There are many good books amongst them that could help a lot of people to be always healthy and feel happy. But none of them is interesting enough to keep any reader in suspense, as a book about adventure, fairy-tales, or other breath-taking stories could do...
I think that any author who writes such books could create them that way that they could be interesting and useful at the same time. A story about swords, battles and glorious deeds could also describe ways and tricks to be always healthy and be disgusted at the bad habits like smoking, drinking of enormous quantities of wine and other strong drinks, etc... I hope I managed to do that well enough in my first Tale Of The Rock Pieces!
I remember an event from my childhood that is a certain evidence my suppositions are true. When a friend of mine saw "Rocky" (the very first movie about the famous boxer), he forgot smoking (it was very modern and "cool" amongst young and older students, I guess it is the same now too?) and didn't want to have a look at any bottle or glass of any strong drinks. Then, he woke up at 5,30 - 6 o’clock in the morning, so that he could train and run a couple of kilometers before the first classes at school!.. So, I guess nothing could be more inspiring for kids and other readers and spectators than a good story full of useful tips. And actually, I hope I managed to combine (or will manage in my future books) an interesting, good story and a lot of useful tips in my works.

http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hpage.com, http://allanbard.hit.bg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI

e-books or paperback and hardcover books?

2010-03-25T17:25:00.000-07:00

I’ve heard a couple of years ago that usually only 10 % of the purchased books are of the kind one could read on a PC or other e-device. I’m not sure whether the situation today has changed, yet many of my friends, realtives and acquaintances prefer to hold a book made of paper. None of them thinks about the awful consequences the creating of paper could cause to the nature... Everey tree is connected to at least twenty species of animals or other plants (it depends on the longitude and latitude, please excuse me if my numbers are not quite correct)... When a tree is cut off, it means death for some of these species, and much stress for the others, that could even lead to extinction...
There are many other awful consecuences caused by the disappearance of the trees. Like draught, erosion, climate change... Usually, the new generation of trees grow up for about ten years, so it takes a lot of time until things are normal again... Finally, that leads to awful consequences for us humans (hunger, diseases, even death...).
I’ve heard that about 98 % of all the animal and plant species that existed on Earth are extinct, since the Earth has been formed or created. I don’t know what is the percentage of the species killed by people’s way of life or strivings for a better future. But I remember when a journalist asked the famous naturalist Gerald Durrel how many animals and plants were threatened or extincted because of people’s activities, Mr Durrel showed him two enormous volumes of The Red Book and replied: „ I don’t know, I’m not brave enough to count them...”
I remember also an excellent thought of the Indians from North America: The Earth is not ours, we just borrowed it from our children... I guess all of us should bear in mind this excellent saying, which Antoan De St. Exupery used too, and do our best to preserve the planet... Reading e-books instead of those made of paper could be one of the ways to do that...

http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hpage.com, http://allanbard.hit.bg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI

about books and movies based on them

2010-03-19T18:38:00.000-07:00

Do you like any movie better than the book it’s based on? I guess one could hardly find such a motion picture?
Probably the reason is that usually movies are much „shorter” than books, so oftentimes books’ most important ideas and thoughts could not be a part of the movies based on them. However, I remember a few motion pictures (only two actually) that are at least a few levels up their stories written on paper. Yet, both The Little Mermaid and The Little Prince are longer than (or equal to) their text versions... Probably most teenagers, or even a lot of adults too, prefer to watch the movies than to read the books they are based on. I don’t know whether they could change their opinion... But I’m certain that any writer could improve his/her writing, so that any potential reader could enjouy his/her works much more.
Being a writer, I could name a few ways I’ve heard for improvement of the written stories, like avoiding the dull, boring explanations, or the long, unnecessary sentences, etc. Though I’d love to know some other opinions of readers, writers, or movie fans, concerning what should be done so that movies could be more like the stories they are based on, or books could become more interesting for any reader. Actually, readers and movie fans’ opinions are what any writer should bear in mind, right?

http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI http://allanbard.hpage.com

have you ever been saved by a book/books?

2010-03-11T13:44:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been saved by a book? I’m serious, so it’s not a joke... ;) Well, I don’t mean that books can cut the rope of your gallows, be your lawyer at the court, or give you or create antidote for the poison you just drank... Yet, it doesn’t mean that many books couldn’t change anyone’s way of thimking, or choices people make, or even make many of us do a lot of incredible deeds (more of them good, less evil or bad I hope...).
For example, a small book of about 150 pages (Flesh by Ph. Farmer) was one of the main reasons for our actions to prevent the destruction of the ozon layer... And I’m sure anyone could name some other examples too of the great power many books have! I’m sure also there are other readers and writers who could share similar stories, like mine:
About ten years ago, there was a period in my life when everything seemed hopeless and meaningless, it seemed my studying of English would be endless (I’m not a native Englishman or American, I’m Bulgarian and realized very soon English was a very difficult language, with so many meanings of a single word, there were so many expressions I had to learn, etc.). After that, it seemed almost impossible to find a publisher for my translated in English book, or even a literary agent who would find a publisher... Then I was so depressed because all these happened so slow, that I wanted to suicide myself...
Fortunately, the reading of some of Terry Pratchett’s excellent books changed my mind and way of thinking once and for all. They made me realize to cope well with any situation in life one has to find the funny side even of the worst events and mishaps. But what was even more incredible was something else. Terry Pratchett’s books’ most amazing quality was that they could make anyone think about serious and important things like wars, good and evil, the real difference between perfection and imperfection, human stupidity and its many forms, the good and bad sides of humans’ faith, etc...
I’m really glad Terry Pratchett’s books appeared in my life at the right moment! Now, when my first book Tale Of The Rock Pieces is finally published I feel I have to thank Mr. Pratchett for his amazing works. I don’t know whether he will read this, but I have to admit he actually helped me to make my dreams come true!

Ivan Stoikov - Allan Bard
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TaleOfTheRockPieces.html, http://allanbard.hit.bg/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yw3a5n00FI http://allanbard.hpage.com