Baron Alexander Deschauer
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Fires, recounts, and the unknowable...

27/11/2016

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I am finally getting used to the reduction in election-related emails, tweets, and FB postings. The idea of a recount or, worse, a hacking conspiracy involving Russia and rigging of the US election would mean chaos and uncertainty for the world.

I am Israel at present and the arson that led to fires in and around Haifa, Jerusalem, and elsewhere is another example of things that are beyond our control. Arson happens all the time. Sometimes, it is effective. We see that now. We saw that during the fire bombing of Dresden by the Allies during WWII. The results of success: huge financial, emotional, and human loss. How and when this happens is incredibly uncertain. Nature is too big to fight. Effective bad guys act as a catalyst to make nature fight on their behalf. Whatever happens, no one is in control.

The above examples are things that spring to mind as I contemplate how little we control in our lives. So much is unknown and unknowable. To survive, we need to find a way to let go of our desire to control our environment, others, even ourselves. This realisation came to me a couple of years ago and was the inspiration for my book, Revelation. It is all about living in the present. That being said, I am as guilty as anyone else when it comes to slipping into the past or future.

If you have been reading my blogs, you'll know that I started this as a way to document my learning curve of social media. My motivation behind engaging with social media was my desire to sell books and become visible online. Today, I have come full circle. I am not convinced that anyone buys a book or likes something simply because they are inundated with your images. I appreciate that conventional marketing confirms that we need to see something quite a few times (20? 30? 50?) before we actually notice it. Online, this is merely noise and it may need to be a much higher number--possibly 100 times plus.

​Combine that with the fact that I am reaching the age where people may look at me as a curmudgeon. I prefer a quiet afternoon under my Mulberry tree with a scotch, cigar, and the Economist to many things. Online, it is very helpful if you are young, perky, and informative. I am the opposite. I am middle-aged, not perky, and looking for information. I try to share what little I have learned. I thought it would be interesting but most twelve-year-old kids already know what I am discovering. (I never thought I'd be one of those people who said things like that...)

BUT, if we go back to square one--things are unknown and unknowable--then there is still a chance for me. (Yes, I remain an optimist.) I am working on a great Young Adult manuscript that I hope to market to schools and libraries in Canada and the US. I believe that I bring to the table something the young, perky people don't--I have lived life a bit longer than them. I also know that most of these internet-savvy folks are very intelligent (despite hiding it in an attempt to look cool). Finally, I know that the audience and readers are very intelligent. It is an old refrain to say that things are being 'dumbed down'. In the age of online readership, I am happy to target the remaining people who want to be challenged and who are interested in impacting the world around them. 

Tomorrow is promised to no-one. It is unknown and unknowable. For me, that gives me hope.
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What works...and doesn't. My take on vlogs, blogs and social media success

20/11/2016

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For those of you who read my blog, you will know that I am a neophyte in the world of social media. I am trying to understand: (1) what works; and (2) what works for me.

What works: attractive, energetic boy/girl with good camera, editing, and message. The message is targeted to a specific group: make-up tips, tips on how to write, fish, shoot, whatever. The blog (now, usually, video blog or vlog) is generated regularly so that the audience can rely on their entertainment fix. This is usually once or twice a week. These vloggers/bloggers create a subscribed audience of tens of thousands and, sometimes, hundreds of thousands. (And, rarely, in the millions.) They entertain, educate, and cross-sell products through recommendations, links, and commissions. You Tube and other online outlets will monetise their message based on the level of viewership. It works for some.

What works for me: I don't mind regularised publications--vlog or blog. I enjoy a good joke, especially at my expense. I find myself ridiculous to be mimicking something I have avoided my entire life. I am not afraid to admit my insecurities or ambitions. In other words, I am happy with being transparent (or as transparent as I am capable of). One of the downsides to this is that I am self-absorbed with my own journey--and viewers may not find this entertaining. What I am coming to realise, is that I am not an entertainer. I have opinions and I will express them. I may learn something and I will share it. I want to be a serious writer and to be taken seriously as a writer. 

What has caused me to muse on this subject? I recently watched Tom Cruise's most recent film--which is based on a Lee Child novel. It is the Jack Reacher franchise. In the novel, Jack Reacher is six foot six inches and is somewhere in the forty-year-old region. Tom Cruise is probably a foot shorter than that and at least fifteen years older. I have no problem with that (artistic licence). What I find odd is how the characters we watch or read are increasingly becoming fantasized versions of reality. We must know that it is impossible to be hit in the face so many times and not have more than a slight scratch. Or to fall thirty feet and do little more than 'shake it off'. We are asked to do more than suspend disbelief as we watch or read these thrillers. (The books are invariably better in these instances.) Tom Cruise is almost believable. Let's look at some of our more senior action heroes. I don't want to offend by naming names, but take this observation: when you see the senior actor walking, he is obviously struggling with his legs; he is wobbly. How are we to then believe that he is capable of running, jumping, rolling, punching, and being punched with little to no effect on his body? Sorry, I'm going to name names: Dolph Lundgren in Kindergarten Cop 2. Firstly, he is ruining a great franchise (how can anyone follow Arnie?). Secondly, he can barely walk. I remember him as the super boxer facing Sly Stallone in Rocky IV. He was scary tough in that movie. Now, he should be tending tomatoes. BUT, because he has a fan base (of which I am one), he gets the tough-guy roles. Michael Douglas is another example. Time to hang up the tough-guy roles. I don't mind them being old tough-guys. But, please stay away from the unrealistic love scenes and the jumping-from-vehicle scenes or the cringing fight scenes. 

YET. Yet, they bring in the audiences and sell movies, books, whatever. They work. They have the 'x-factor'. 

Should I emulate them? Possibly. Copy them? Definitely not. They are outliers. They are the lottery winners. They are the necessary sparkle that keeps the rest of us hypnotised--believing that the dream is alive so long as some people are reaching our perceived goals.

​What should I do? I need to remember that gravity exists. Running for extended periods of time makes me tired. Too much food and drink will make me fat. And that I will not sell millions of books by acting like an idiot on my vlog or blog. I will write freely, allowing my imagination and senses to go to the extremes of human existence. I will question the good, bad, and the ugly in our society. Some of my writing will be worse (and better) than others. Some may not like it at all. Others may love it (and do). All I can do is to be honest with myself and write the best books I can on subjects that interest me. How those are received is beyond my control.
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The real reason Trump won...

11/11/2016

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I was one of those who stayed up all night to watch the drama unfold (I am eight hours ahead). Prior to the election, I feared that Trump might win but was confident that Clinton would pull it off. On the day, she didn't. The world has not ended and our disappointments may yet be quelled with quiet appreciation of the billionaire philanderer who is able to achieve things--even if those things aren't what we like.

BUT, none of those are things I want to talk (write) about today. I have previously posted that Clinton's main failing was that she came across as a robot. I may have even made mention of 'The Madman versus the Robot' (but that may have been on twitter). Apart from Trump's (very) impressive (and uncharacteristically gracious) acceptance speech, I was struck by the lack of emotion in Clinton's speech.

In 2008, Hillary Clinton found herself almost out of the race against Obama. Then, she was caught crying on camera in a cafe. She became human for a brief moment. Her ratings soared and she was back in the race. Somewhere in her brilliant mind, she has convinced herself that showing emotion = weakness. Perhaps she has seen the exercise of power up close for far too long and realized how men denigrate women's intuitive or emotive responses. Somehow, she plated herself with so much armor that she could no longer be recognized by the electorate. Power may be a dry-eyed game, but elections are won or lost on emotion.

 Fast forward to 2016 and she has found out that she has lost to someone no one believed could win only a few months ago. I am certain that she cried behind closed doors with Bill and her closest team. In public, she appeared dry-eyed and makes mention that '...this will hurt for a long time.' This is a massive understatement. She has been crawling on glass for this for years. She has wanted this from the moment her husband achieved his second term. In defeat, she didn't want Trump or the world to know that she was hurt. No tears. No regrets. She doesn't need anyone. Well, this lack of emotion provided the type of disconnect that allowed Trump to engage in a campaign of character assassination that Goebbels would have been proud of. Eighteen months of a simple message from Trump (she's a crook, etc) and the public believes it. If you asked people eighteen months ago, no one would have called her corrupt or crooked; now it seems to be accepted by a large majority of the public. I watch in wonderment at history repeating itself.

​As I am now writing books, I try and glean as much as I can from life experience. The lesson I have learned from Trump vs Clinton? Emotion trumps fact. Human trumps robot. If we can't empathize or sympathize, we won't engage. If we don't engage, we don't vote. For me, that means readers who won't read my books or hear what I have to say. Both I and my characters need to allow ourselves to show our weakness as well as our strengths. We need to be vulnerable as well as real. We can all spot fakes. To that end, to engage with the public, we need to be prepared to stand on stage unpolished and unready. If we are real, we will be allowed to grow and mature into the finished product we have within us. Sometimes, even if we are real, the public is not interested in us. In that case, we need to accept it and move on. For Clinton, that means no presidency. For me, my journey has just begun; time will tell.


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Food poisoning, stephen king and other thoughts...

8/11/2016

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After three weeks of antibiotics, I thought I was out of the woods. I returned home to have a perfectly cooked meal of pigeon. As any carnivore will tell you, meat should be pink when cooked; I like it with a hint of blood. As any person dealing with food will tell you, be careful about undercooking anything for fear of not killing the bugs. As luck would have it, the bugs survived and wreaked havoc with my poor body. As I am an optimist, I am looking at this as a way to kick start my new diet--how to lose 10 pounds without trying. First step: get food poisoning. The rest takes care of itself. Now, I need to keep my mouth closed long enough for my body to digest the extra weight I have taken on as a result of: (1) a faulty scale at the gym; and (2) my thinking that two hours of exercise a day meant I could double or triple my food intake. 


During my writing spurts, I rarely listen to any audio books. I prefer to read--as I can skim through books where sections are slow and concentrate where I am interested. Audible books can sometimes be ponderous. I am currently listening to It by Stephen King. I read this circa twenty years ago and can still remember some key scenes. Listening to it is great BUT it is something like 48 hours. After 3-5 hours of any author, your mind/ears needs a break. It is a great companion for commuting or airports or long walks. I slowly chip away 2-3 hours a day. I am now in the home stretch of 10 hours to go. I am beginning to itch to finish and move on to another book. I still read my kindle and I tend to read multiple books at the same time. But audible does not give me this freedom. I am committed to one title at a time. Perhaps this is the greatest drawback of audible books. (That being said, ignore everything I said and buy my new audio books! he he)

​I guess it would be poor form if I didn't comment on the US elections being held today. I am going to go out on a limb and say that Clinton will win--if only because so many people want Trump to lose. I am one of those people who agree with quite a bit of what Trump says (not the xenophobic, ignorant stuff, just the iconoclast stuff) but I deeply distrust the character that is Trump. I think he is a sociopath and should not be trusted with the presidency. Whoever wins, I pity the other. Payback is, as they say, a bitch. I imagine the long knives are already being sharpened...

Food, writing, and politics. Short and sweet today.
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  • Home
  • Baron's Books
    • Concentration Camps of Canada >
      • TRC Reports
    • The Art of Wealth >
      • Art of Wealth--Read / Listen
    • Revelation >
      • Revelation--Read / Listen
    • Faust >
      • Faust--Read / Listen
    • Man on the Run I -- The Hildebrandt Dossier >
      • MOTR I--Read/Listen
    • Man on the Run II -- How to Get Rich >
      • MOTR II--Read/Listen
    • Man on the Run III--Conspiracy >
      • MOTR III--Read / Listen
    • Man on the Run IV--CHAOS 25-06-25 >
      • MOTR IV -- Read / Listen
    • Man on the Run V--Slaves of Circumstance >
      • MOTR V--Read / Listen
    • Man on the Run VI--For Richer or Poorer >
      • MOTR VI--Read / Listen
  • News/Media
  • Contact
  • Baron's Blog