Detroit in Ruins or a City on the Mend?

I just read a book review  in The New York Observer by Michael H. Miller of a photo study called Detroit: 138 Square Miles, a depiction of the ruins of Old Detroit, complied by Ms. Taubman - apparently she doesn't have a first name.

This book is yet another entry in a genre of books about Detroit called "ruin porn," which shows the Motor City at its post-apocalyptic worse. What makes her book different than the rest, says Miller, is that many of her photographs demonstrate "for better or worse, there is life among those ruins."

Anyone who has traveled to Detroit and driven outside the commercial enclave of business buildings, sport complexes, and gambling casinos downtown can see that the city and many of its people are hurting. Vast blocks of cleared land look like urban prairies, punctuated by burned out ruins too numerous and expensive to demolish.

Many of these neighborhoods have occasional signs of life in homes that have long since expired their reasonable lifespans - peopled by stubborn residents who anchor themselves in their old neighborhoods because they have no where else to go.

There is a brief glimmer of hope in the gentrification of the ruins of this city - some young, educated, and optimistic people seem willing to take a chance on Detroit - a city that almost everyone believes has seen its best days.

Detroit is ripe to reinvent itself. But first it must come to grips with its rough and tumble past and restore law, order, and opportunity to its inner city residents.

Cafeteria Style Theology

Finally, something about religion that makes sense to me. Double-click dark blue box.

Confessions of a Yearling Writer

The first year of publishing and promoting my debut novel - Zug Island - has been an interesting learning experience. Lesson number one was that writing the book was only the beginning.

Preparing it for publication was the second layer of development. This involved an editor's trained eyes for deep editing, continuity, and format development. Decisions about the cut size of the pages, front and back cover designs, font style and size, and the price point needed to be made.

Once the copyright had been obtained and my novel was issued an International Standard Book Number (ISBN), my publisher, Wheatmark.com, had it listed in the Ingram trade catalog and on Amazon. I also had a Kindle format produced.

My publicist, Paula Margulies, informed me that now I needed to develop an electronic platform in support of the book. This involved creating and purchasing a domain name, building a website for the novel, choosing a web-host with webmaster services to update the site, setting up facebook and twitter accounts to begin social networking, and creating a blog to establish myself as a brand.

The part of all this that I was the most reluctant about was the blog. I feared the time involved in writing it wouldn't be worth the effort. I was right - it takes time; I was wrong - it is worth the effort! In addition, it helps me establish a writing habit.

In the seven months Fornology has been running, I've written 59 posts that have received over 3,000 hits - many of them global. From a commercial publishing standpoint, that may be modest, but as an independent author starting from ground zero, I'm very pleased.

I've been able to promote my first novel - Zug Island - and solicit information for my next project - The Water Tower. I've been able to "chunk out" ideas in some of my posts which I will adapt for later use, and I've been able to create verbal snap shots of some of my experiences promoting my work.

Maybe the best thing I've discovered about blogging is that it is helping establish me as a credible writer by providing a showcase for my writing that is easily accessible to the public, the media, and booking agents. Blogging is opening doors for me that I didn't know existed.

Talk Radio - Why Not?

Looking through a newsletter from my publisher, Wheatmark.com, I discovered a free radio booking resource called Radio Guest List. Once you sign-in with them, they send out a daily listing of radio outlets requesting guests to interview for a wide range of topics.

Depending on the program's target audience, they are looking for authors, musicians, lifestyle commentators, financial planners, and "experts" in many areas. This website simply lists stations that need on-air talent. Once you find a request for a quest spot that is in your area of expertise, you contact their booking agent. That's it!

If they are interested, they will email you back to make arrangements. Within a week, I have been booked for two interviews to discuss my novel - Zug Island - one is for a show called Beef Stew, and the other is for a program named Sayin It Plain.

Other than readers, what new authors desperately need are publicity and exposure. This website provides both for free. Take advantage of it. Good luck!

www.radioguestlist.com

Contemplating Eternity and Infinity

 

As our planet ticks off another solar year, the Hubble telescope has provided Earthlings with a view of the far reaches of the universe. Try and wrap your head around this. Happy New Year!

http://www.flixxy.com/hubble-ultra-deep-field-3d.htm?nav=ne

Dancing with Devils (1 of 4)

Since September, my partner and I have been investigating the John Norman Collins murders in the Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor area between July of 1967 through July of 1969. These seven murders of young women became know as the Co-Ed Killings and have since become a local legend - partly because five of the murders are as yet unsolved - partly because of shoddy police work. Despite early media attention nationally, the trial was overshadowed by the Tate/Bianca murders and the Charles Manson family, which occurred at the same time.

My research into this matter includes studies of many of the most infamous serial killers, sex criminals, sociopaths, and pathological narcissists in twentieth-century America - almost exclusively angry white males. If ever there was a Rogue's Gallery in Hell, this collection of psychopaths would make their blood run cold.

What makes these people different from the rest of us? Something called a conscience. These people are lost in a deep and dark existential void where their actions don't have consequences for them - until they are caught, of course. Then they justify their crimes. These people live in a mirrored reality where they are in control - where they are God.

Dr. Martha Stout, PhD, in her book, the sociopath next door (sic), convincingly purports that one in twenty-five people are sociopathic. That is four percent of the population. Many of these people find their niche in society, but too many others carve their way into our consciousness. At their best, they manipulate and use people heartlessly - at their worst, they unleash havoc and horror on an unprotected and terrified public.

What is even more scary is that most of these characters have charm and cunning to mask their heinous acts and desires. Reminds me of Lady Macbeth's advice to her husband, "Appear the innocent flower, but be the serpent underneath." Even in Shakespeare's time, this "deceptive" feature of psychopaths was known. More the pity, there is no known cure for their madness. But when push comes to shove - Beware! - they will stop at nothing to manipulate reality to suit themselves and satisfy their ravenous rage against a society that hasn't learned to appreciate or acknowledge them.

The study of  sociopathy is in its early stages, and there are many unanswered questions about it. How do we identify sociopaths? Once we identify them, what do we do about them? How can society protect itself?

Lawyers avoid using the term in court because it has not been precisely defined. The term "serial killer" was not used in court until the 1980's, when an FBI man used it in court to describe the dramatic increase of this crime after World War Two. In Colin Wilson's incisive work, The History of Murder, he states that the FBI estimates serial killers kill 300 to 500 people yearly in America.

People just don't become killers. What makes them that way? And if there are natural born killers among us, surely that tendency displays itself early in their lives. Why isn't sociopathy addressed in public schools? We give lip service against bullies, but what is done with these kids who prey on other students - driving an increasing number to suicide? More often than not, we simply transfer them to another school and seal their records? Presently, there is no known treatment to cure these demons among us, but ignoring them is not an option.

What’s keeping Windsor awake at night? - Life - Macleans.ca

Last month, a photo editor at Macleans, Canada's Life magazine, emailed me asking where she could get photos of Zug Island. They were about to publish an article on the Zug Island Hum, which I call the Zug Island Tremors. I guess it depends on which side of the Detroit River you live on. The people in Windsor, Ontario are not amused.

"No problem!" I wrote back. "The photo on my book's front cover was shot by Bill Deneau, a Torontite."

Since Macleans is headquartered in Toronto, I recommended Bill's evocative photograph - but alas - Bill didn't get the nod. The photo they used was essentially the same scene from a distance but without the visual impact.

Here is the article. Enjoy!

What’s keeping Windsor awake at night? - Life - Macleans.ca