Spirit of the River

Why are Vulcans so popular? I love Vulcans. I've loved them since I was a kid, and even now Tuvok and T'Pol are amongst my most popular TV characters. What is it about Vulcans that makes them so attractive to people? I know from conversations with other people that Vulcans are very popular. Why men like T'Pol is not such a difficult question to answer. I'm sure it has less to do with the Vulcan character than with what she looks like. But what about characters like Tuvok and Spock? And what is the appeal of T'Pol to women?  A short overview I am not going to delve into the history and development of the Vulcan belief system and spirituality, but it basically boils down to this: the Vulcans believe that many problems in their past were caused by uncontrolled emotions, e.g. hate, jealousy, anger, greed. Vulcans used to have a very violent nature. At some stage, a Vulcan called Surak developed a philosophical system based on logic and meditation, on the con...

Do you know the old Bee Gees song "Words" (it has also been covered by Boyzone, and I find that version a bit easier to listen to). It is partially about the meaning of words, how words can change someone's heart, how they can win a heart, how important that they be, but also that the other person might not believe a thing the other says. When words are all you have If you have been following my blog (either here on the old version on Wordpress), then you know that I love words, I love languages, I love books, I love meaningful lyrics, I love writing. However, at the moment, words also make me sad - because if words are indeed all you have, then you do not have much at all. If you then also only get the words from strangers (i.e. from songs, from books, from strangers you meet on the internet because your "friends" don't care), then it is even worse, because of course those strangers do not know you. They have not written the words with you in mind. The ...

I hate to admit it, but at the moment I am listening to Take That's Abbey Road performances from the year 2009 quite often. I enjoy their "recent" works, and I was one of the people who just didn't like boy bands in general very much in the past. I was a teenager who preferred to listen to other things. I liked one or the other song of different boy bands, but that was about it. When the music of a band or a singer "speaks" to me, I usually also want to find out a bit more about the background. I did a little bit of research about the more mature version of Take That, and I like some of the things I have read and listened to. But this is not about Take That - don't worry. I really don't know enough about them to write about them. I only know what their music does to me. The song that got my attention was "The Flood", then I also discovered other songs I really liked. "Shine" is one of the songs. I actually liked the lyrics more ...

This will not be the most positive entry - and it will not be about the general issues a writer has when writing. It is not about how to write, when to write, and how to deal with writer's block (there is no such thing anyway, it's just a dumb excuse for not turning up on the page). This is about a problem I am have with writing at the moment. And as there are thousands of other writers out there, if not millions, then I am sure that some other writers will also be able to identify with what I am writing about in this post. Other writers - the happy, chirpy sort with not a care in the world - will not understand it at all. The question is: How do you create something beautiful if you have never witnessed it yourself? We all know that works of literature often contain the most beautiful stories, the most beautiful worlds, wonderful characters, beautiful relationships, true friendships, loyalty, and above all: hope that there is something good in the world. Something wort...

The following text is a fan fiction based on the world and characters created by J.R.R. Tolkien. It tells a story that has not been told within Tolkien's work, but a story that is worth telling. This is my first, and most likely last, fan fiction, as I would like to focus on writing my novel from now on. But I felt I needed to tell this story. Bard and Lucinda I am not know for my talent as a teller of stories, yet today I have a story for you. A story that I have been a part of, a story that usually remains untold. It is a quiet story, a tragic story. The kind of story people do not care much about as it is not about dragons, war, or violence. The beginning of the story was told to me by Bard, also known as the Bowman, slayer of the dragon Smaug. King of Dale. A noble man who managed to impress even me. I only learned about the early part of the story after I had known Bard, may he rest in peace, for a long time. I enter the story at a later part, and at that stage did no...

Who's Kenny Wizz? Kenny Wizz (from the USA)  is a Michael Jackson tribute artist who I fortunately could see a few times when he was on tour in New Zealand in 2011. And yes, he is a proper artist, a proper performer - and not just a look-a-like or impersonator. His band plays live, and he sings live (though he might not always sing himself, I think - but I don't know enough to judge that 100%). And he is good at it - not perfect, but you would not expect perfection from someone who is on a stage and dances like Michael Jackson while singing live. Michael Jackson often did not sing live during his tours - so Kenny was actually doing something quite spectacular. Kenny Wizz has been a MJ tribute artist for over 30 years now, so he kind of started with it two years after I was born! Kenny Wizz in New Zealand, 2011 I learned about Kenny Wizz late in the year 2010. I think it was just before Christmas. At that stage in my life I really needed something to look forward to. Y...

.... basically is that they are not chickens.  Beware: this post is unedited, more like a stream of consciousness. I didn't want to write something structured and thought through today. I won't be offended if you don't read this. I'm just writing it to get it out of my system. When I lived in New Zealand, I took care of quite a few chickens for a few years, and even though I did not have a good human friend to talk to, I always had the chickens, especially my dear rooster Frodo (who died last year, without my presence, because I had to move to the UK). Chickens are far more accepting than people. The chickens only cared about how I treated them. Nothing else mattered. Not the colour of my skin, not the colour of my eyes, not the colour or length of my hair. It did not matter to them whether I wore trousers or a skirt. They did not care about my religion, about my race, about my culture. They simply do not judge based on these things. You can be connected to chick...

Yeah, who wouldn't want to pay attention to Xena? Keywords play a very important role when it comes to being popular online: Whether you are a company that sells a certain product or service, whether you are an author who would like to sell his ebook on his website, or whether you are a blogger who simply would like to find some readers to interact with, you will sooner or later have to deal with keywords. What does that have to do with an introvert cat that watches Xena? Not much, apart from the fact that people always tell me cats rule the internet, so I thought I might take advantage of that and combine a cat with two of the most popular keywords for my blog (introverts, Xena). I might have used the Hobbit, too, but as I was actually watching Xena with the cats, I thought this was more fitting. Keywords aside, let's talk about cats. Is there really something like an introvert cat? Believe it or not, cats can actually be introverts, too. I have spent time with two ...

The myth of introverts as a minority Recent books and studies are finally debunking the myth that introverts are a minority. Around half of the population consists of introvert - yet introverts often feel as if they are the only ones - after all, our society teaches us "the more the merrier", "parties are fun", and that being social and having fun come hand in hand. For extroverts, that is true. For introverts a hell of a party is more like hell indeed. Considering that half of the population is introvert, you might imagine that plenty of people do not have much fun during parties. But are introverts automatically party poopers? It depends very much on how you look at it - and when both sides have respect for each other, even introverts can have fun. In certain doses. They might still be the first ones to leave a party, or to look for a quiet spot. Introverts and parties When you ask an introvert to go on a part, you probably have no idea how much you push th...

After I decided to continue using this blog instead of my WordPress blog, I had a look at my old posts, and decided to write a follow-up article to one of my most popular posts: about being like Xena. I am not sure whether it is the images or the actual text that attracted visitors, but no matter what the reason is, it has turned into one of the most visited posts on this blog. When I wrote the older post, I was still living in New Zealand, and in a way, I was stuck in a rut. Only now that I am looking back at what I was doing (virtually just being stuck in a daily routine), do I realize that I wasn't getting very close to being like Xena. Yes, I was tough, I was the one people turned to when they needed advice or help, and I dealt with my problems on my own.  But I was not very proactive when it came to changing my life. I was letting other people just treat me the way they wanted to treat me. I accepted negativity, I accepted people taking advantage of me. All because I th...

Respect is one of the very important ingredients you need to create the "cake" called happiness. However,do not make the mistake to think that it is other people who need to add THEIR respect to YOUR cake. You are the baker, you are responsible for what that cake looks like. When I was younger (as in a kid and teenager) I often just adjusted my own needs to what other people wanted. I thought this way I would become more popular, more loved, more respected, and that people then would want to spend more time with me. I only achieved that I was "tolerated" (I now also know I was looking for the attention of the wrong people, but that is a story for another time, maybe). I also achieved that I was very unhappy with myself because I often put my own well-being, my own needs, my own values into a cupboard. I hid my passions, my true opinions, and in return did not really get along with myself very well. I was disrespecting myself - just because I wanted other people t...

Being not "good" enough We all want to have friends, we all want to be accepted by others. Unfortunately, some people will not like who you truly are, and you know it. Sometimes we meet people we think we like, maybe because they look a certain way, maybe because they are part of a certain group, maybe because they have a certain position we admire, etc. But when we realize that who we are might not be enough for them to be interested in us, we often try to be someone else. What I learned through experience is this: If you aren't "good" enough for them, then they are also most likely not good for you in the long run. They will drain your energy, they will always make you feel under pressure, and in the end, you won't even like yourself any more. Changing your character for others is not a good idea You are who you are - and that is absolutely okay. Everyone changes over time, everyone develops new skills, new likes, new dislikes, and everyone becomes ...