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

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
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Some thoughts about religious fanatics like Anderch Breivick.

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.

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
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The best way for education.

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.

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...

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.

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