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Wind River is one of the most soul stirring films I have seen in recent years. An Indian-American girl goes off to spend a night with her Caucasian boyfriend, in his cabin on a Winter rig-camp in the woods. The boy’s friends return from a night out, drunk, and with super-charged libido. They find the boy making out with his girlfriend, and they felt entitled to join, but when the boy resists and tries to protect his girlfriend from the gnashing wolves “friends”, they attack him, knock him out with the butt of a wine bottle and repeatedly rape his girlfriend. The boy regains consciousness and tries to fight back, but he is overpowered, knocked out and killed by his supposed friends and colleagues. His girlfriend uses that chance to escape into the cold and frosty night, without her shoes. After walking miles, treading barefoot on crackling and freezing snowflakes, her lungs succumbs to the cold; collapses, and she dies as a result of prolong exposure to cold and frostbites. Her death is the inciting incident for every other conflicts in the story, and her death is avenged in the end by her uncle; a skilled marksman and a prey-hunter in the woods, even with the presence of a law agent, FBI agent Jane Banner (played by Elizabeth Olsen). In region where an effective judicial system and the law was far from, nothing was more satisfying than watching those bastards hunted down like wild animals in the woods by one of the main protagonists of the story, Cory Lambert (played by Jeremy Renner). Nsikan Hilary.

This is a question that keeps coming up. Pricing artwork is challenging when you're getting started. Even the opinions of the experts on how to price artwork vary. To make it even more complicated, artists sometimes price with their emotions. Some artists overprice their work in order to impress viewers, hoping to make the artwork look more valuable. Sometimes this works, but usually only when the collector is naïve or when the artwork is spectacular and gets the attention of multiple collectors. Price Your Artwork with this Formula Multiply the painting’s width by its length to arrive at the total size, in square inches. Then multiply that number by a set dollar amount that’s appropriate for your reputation. Then calculate your cost of canvas and framing, and then double that number. For example: A 16”-x-20” oil-on-linen landscape painting: 16” x 20” = 320 square inches. Using $6 per square inch, this painting should be priced at 320 x 6 = $1,920.00. Figure out the price of your frame, canvas and other materials. Then double this cost. Otherwise, I’m subsidizing the collector by giving him or her the frame for free. For example, $150 x 2 = $300. 3. Then I put it all together: $1,920 + $300 = $2,220 (the retail price). If you're selling through a gallery, which customarily charge 50% of the selling price, your cut after the commission is paid comes to $1,110 for the painting and $150 for the framing, for a total net of $1,250. It is recommended for much larger pieces to reduce the price per square inch down a notch, a dollar or two lower, so as not to overprice the work for what people will actually pay. Also, check around to see what others are charging for similar works. Alternately, for smaller works, price using the same per square inch as for your regular pieces because these take nearly as much effort as larger works, and you need to be compensated fairly, even when the work is miniature. Generally, when you’re first starting out, it’s a good idea to make your work as affordable as you can while being able to make a small profit. But, don’t charge so little that you don’t break even. If you've got another method and are willing to share, please let us know!

Nowadays there are different sites and apps through which one can sell their books. Ebooks are being used way more than before, the reasons can be many: Environmental issues, Covid, etc. So, It is understood that authors want to sell their books online. There are many places to traditionally sell your book like book shops, events, etc. But Where to sell a book online? To get to know them, go through the following points: Amazon/ KDP This is the top place to sell anything including books online for some years now. It's available in most the countries in the world and setting up an account is quite easier in comparison to other websites and applications. The author of the book can add their novel as a softcopy or an ebook. The writer can set up their account on Amazon-owned-Kindle's Kindle Direct Publishing(KDP), the hub of ebook reading, and start to get an audience! Many self-published authors have found success through this. It is a top e-reader and is beloved in the world of booklovers! The customer service is also top-notch and would be able to help you at any stage of the process if you need so. Through your blog/website: Selling or providing your copy on your own website or blog is the easiest way to sell a book online. Set up your blog if you don't already have any. There are many options to do so, both free and paid. And after reviewing and setting up the site, just add a page for the audience to download your book. This not only answers the question ``Where to sell a book online for free" but can also build you an email listing of people that would get the novel if they sign up on your site! You can use these email signups to reach your email inbox with your other blog/website announcements! Thus, it's like hitting two birds with one stone! Try your location-based sites according to your place: They differ from place to place and country and you would need to research Where to sell a book online for free? on a search engine to get the results and see the third-party websites and places to list your book(s) there. Try other e-commerce platforms and websites: Again, you have to research the platforms that do global publishing and PR like eBay, Payhip, Overdrive, and more. The rules and regulations of these do get regulated over time, so proper exploration is required by the researcher. You can also add your book on the ArtsKeeper website as well for the artist's exposure and awareness with the audience of readers! Through interactive reading sites: There are quite a few sites and apps like Wattpad now where the writer can publish their book on these online reading interactive sites as online stories. The author can save their stories in chapters or sections or just publish the whole novel, according to their time and reader's reaction to the book. There are some options that make these sites different from other publishing processes and they are written as follows: On the sites, the audience can read and comment on your writing in real-time. The author can edit and make changes in their story as they please which is not something that normal publishing allows to do. You also get the choice to choose either to charge for your book or its chapter if you see and think you've built enough audience. Now that you have gone through these sites, you can check out the ways that align with your situation the best and go with them! You can also add your book on the ArtsKeeper site to get exposure and sell through the website!

Once upon a time, a man walking forlornly down a beach stumbled across an ancient lamp. His foot accidentally kicked the lamp, and out sprung a mighty genie! "You have freed me!" the genie bellowed. "For that, I shall grant you one wish." The man gazed wistfully out at the sea for a moment, and then said, "I wish for my life to be special, important, and meaningful." The genie gave the man an inscrutable look, folded his arms, and blinked. There was a sudden bang and a puff of smoke. "Your wish is granted!" the genie declared. After a moment, the man felt his body, shook his head, and looked at the genie in confusion. "I don't feel any different!" he protested. The genie then gave the man a sad smile. "Of course not," he whispered. And then he disappeared. I saw this story as a comic recently. I wish I could take credit for it's brilliant simplicity. Thanks to whoever it was that created it - wish I had noted the name. We often feel we're accomplishing nothing. Don't believe it! I just received a DM from a fellow LinkedInnie (is that a good term?) that included the following quote (truncated for brevity and anonymity): "You should receive an email with a link to a kindle copy of my first novel... I've followed you for a while on LinkedIn... You were one of the examples which encouraged me to start submitting to publishers." This writer had done short stories for a while, but only as a hobby. He began submitting full books only a few years ago - and now has signed his third book deal - and he's attributing part of his motivation to my example! I don't know what I've done that he found so encouraging. I'm certainly not one of those "you can do it!" cheerleader folks. If anything, I tend to to note, and ponder, the difficulties we writers stru ggle with, and I rarely have a simple solution to offer. Hardly the world's greatest motivator, I know. But a person I know only slightly saw something I did, took heart from it, and make a huge step forward in his personal and professional life. (AND he sent me just the loveliest message to tell me, too!) You may think it'll sink without a ripple, but don't kid yourself. You never know how your stone will skip across the sea. _____________ Yonah Klein is the author of numerous published comics, children's books, short stories, audio productions, and the novel Power Plays. His second novel, based on the wildly successful serial Face2Face, is due out shortly.

Given the thousands of films that are produced and released each year, remarkably few provoke widespread public debate or make headlines. Those that do transcend the entertainment category to become part of social history. According to Sophia White, writer for Culture Trip, here are 10 that have never ceased to shock. I'd be interested in your thoughts after you read this. If this topic can't spark a discussion... what would? ‘The Birth of a Nation’ (1915) shows how cinema audiences, thankfully, have changed over the past century. Gone are the days when a 190 minute film – at full length, or 133 minutes on its original theatrical release – portrays the Ku Klux Klan as a heroic force. The portrayal of black people in film has, too, come along way, with very few films having white actors in blackface. On release the NAACP unsuccessfully led a campaign to ban the film, and it opened to widespread protests among African-American groups. Nonetheless, in 1992 it was added to the National Film Registry. ‘A Clockwork Orange’ (1971) should always be on the tip of your tongue when you’re talking about controversy. Anthony Burgess’ original text is brought vividly to life in Stanley Kubrick‘s acclaimed adaptation of A Clockwork Orange, although with the intense portrayal of the ultraviolence it is arguably brought too much to life. Disturbing images litter the film, from the opening scene which features a brutal beating, through to the iconic scene with Alex’s rehabilitation. The film marked a turning point in the portrayal of violence on film, particularly British film, but it was still met by numerous detractors. A modern classic that is nonetheless a disturbing watch. ‘Freaks’ (1932) is a horror film which managed to get away with things that would no longer have been possible after the introduction of the Motion Picture Production Code. Many of the main cast members worked as genuine carnival sideshow performers as their day job, and had genuine physical deformities. Despite undergoing extensive cuts prior to its theatrical release and the plot framing the “freaks” as the good guys and the “normal people” as the real monsters, it was still widely critically derided and a commercial failure. It has since gained a semi-cult status, but it goes to show that a film with the tagline “can a full grown woman truly love a midget?” can only gain so much success. ‘The Interview’ (2014) doesn’t necessarily have to equate to fine cinema, but it was one of 2014’s biggest news stories, one which led to the re-ignition of discussion of free speech in cinema as well as a painful – for the executives at least – insight into the inner workings of a major film studio. ‘Kids’ (1995) ignited public debate over its artistic merit and was released with an NC-17 from the MPAA, before later being distributed without a rating. ‘Last Tango in Paris’ (1972) received an X rating from the MPAA and was subject to various recuts in different territories. Its portrayal of sexual violence and emotional suffering makes for a troublesome watch, one which led to some rare government interference and censorship in various countries. In France, however, it gained near universal acclaim, with audiences travelling from across the border and waiting for hours in line in order to catch a glimpse of this much talked about film. ‘Salò’, or’ The 120 Days of Sodom’ (1975) portrayals of rape, torture and murder, particularly of under-18s, has led to its banning in multiple territories and there was still high profile debate around its artistic merit some 20 years after its release. ‘Straw Dogs’ (1971) was part of the canon of films which produced a rise in the active debate surrounding violence in cinema. ‘Triumph of the Will’ (1935) is the famous Nazi propaganda film directed by Leni Riefenstahl, who would later have to attend several trials regarding her association with the National Socialists and who would always maintain that she had no knowledge of Hitler’s genocidal or anti-Semitic policies. The techniques that Riefenstahl employed, including moving cameras, aerial photography, and the use of long lenses to create focal distortion, were still innovative at the time and has helped the film to gain the accolade of being one of history’s greatest propaganda films. ‘Viridiana’ (1961) is now widely regarded as a masterpiece, but the reception on its initial release was tepid at best. Its close-to-the-bone, though unusual, portrayal of events within the Church, with incest, sexual perversion, greed and violence all being explored, made it a ripe target for criticism. This is Sophia White's list. If you'd like to see the article, which contains the trailers for each film, here is the link: https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/california/articles/the-10-most-controversial-films-of-all-time/

Along a smoky, winding path wrapped around the mountains; their commander, who rode a brown Danish warmblood, with his sword dangling on his right hand side, gazed beyond the foggy distance in-front of his army—a legion of cadavers consisting of people’s late ancestors and even offsprings, clothed in soggy pants and rat-torn shoes—before pulling his reins and urging his horse forward. The commander had a calm expression on his face, despite the predictably forlorn future ahead. Winter was fast enclosing the mountains, leaving everything in its wake, a hazy look—a much-needed sheep clothing for the army of the dead marching up against the army of the living in the open fields—and already a foreshadowing to what the rest of the army saw as a bleak future, though contrary to their commander’s sentiments, because he saw it as a true test of their strength ahead of the innumerable wars lying in wait for them. To him, the commander, war has always been a necessity for a just course and nothing else but war; not even a round table discussion with the enemies and some bottles of liquor. Just war. Someone had to die on a battlefield; brothers, fathers, cousins, nephews, and even sisters in some cases, for the realization of a much-overlooked phenomenon to set in, which in his case was the fight for humans to realize that though “one returneth to dust is no excuse for castaways of late loved ones”. Nsikan Hilary

ArtsKeeper is here to make you a success. When ArtsKeeper was starting we took a survey of the things artists (of all types) needed to help their arts businesses thrive. I'm happy to let you know all but one of these features are now available on our platform. And better yet, its all available for your use. Here is the shortlist of reasons why every artist should use ArtsKeeper. JOIN First thing you can do to get value from ArtsKeeper is to join. This allows us to keep in touch and let you know about new services and features and how to take advantage of them. PROMOTION ArtsKeeper will promote your art and your services at no cost to you. Promotion includes posting your work on our Showcase and getting our army of volunteers to post specially crafted promos for your work on every social media channel. EVENTS The ArtsKeeper platform enables us to do live and recorded events. For you, this means we can use any recorded performance sent to us, or we can spotlight you in a live online event, which we will also record for future use by us and by you. COURSES We are about to start providing online courses on art topics. Anyone who is interested in helping create a course is welcome to participate. PODCASTS Interviews with artists, storytelling and book readings are among the first things planned. If you are interested in either being the subject of a podcast or helping produce some, let us know. COMMUNITIES ArtsKeeper has three channels for you to express yourself and share experiences or provide guidance. These are our Blog, Forum and Groups. Please feel free to use these and create a following on ArtsKeeper. JOBS AND TALENT We now have an automated feature for posting jobs and for letting others know you are available for hire or commission. CALENDAR AND NEWS We've added a new service to provide daily updated art news so you can keep up with what's happening all in one place -- on ArtsKeeper. We have also added a Calendar of upcoming events, as well as a homepage ticker to promote Art Contests, Calls for Artists, etc. ArtsKeeper will provide space on this ticker so you can promote your event, contest, new works, etc. Contact us if you're interested. COMING FEATURES STORE Soon, the ArtsKeeper online store will be launched so you can sell your work. An added bonus for you is that every item in our store will be promoted on our site and on social media and other ecommerce stores. Watch for our announcement. FILE / COLLECTION STORAGE ArtsKeeper will soon provide a secure area for members to use to store important files and photos, recordings, etc. More to come soon on this feature. PERSONAL ARTIST WEBSITES We know it is an expense to have your own web domain and hosting contract, as well as hiring web designers if needed. ArtsKeeper plans to provide this service for our members in the near future. ArtsKeeper keeps improving and is responsive to your needs and requests. We just revamped our home page to make it more interesting and useful. We hope you like it. Drop us a line and give us your feedback.

There are generally two types of people who visit and use the ArtsKeeper site. This article explains how these differ and the benefits of becoming a Member. Contacts. Visitors are automatically added to the ArtsKeeper mailing list when they contact us through our site (e.g., through a contact us form). Aside from getting an occasional outreach, that is the extent of our engagement with them. Members are people who sign up to be members through the ArtsKeeper Join Form at the top of our homepage. Members have their own profiles in the Members Area and can interact with other members of the community. Members can also take on specific roles in your site, and are assigned badges to highlight their roles (e.g., Blog Writer) or as rewards for involvement (e.g. Quick Starter). Once you sign up to be a Member, you can access your own Member's Area, which comes with private pages (e.g., My Account, Notifications) that let members view their personal information and provides access to ArtsKeeper exclusive content for members. As a member you can create public or private pages, which are explained below. The Login Bar at the top center of the ArtsKeeper home page enables members to sign in and log off of the site. As an ArtsKeeper member, you can access all these pages from your Member's Menu which you can customize to your exact needs. Members can also use their Profile to introduce themselves to other members of the ArtsKeeper community. Your Profile page includes the following, which you can personalize: Display name: Members can choose what name, or nickname, they want on their profile. The default is your member's first and last name, but they can change this to anything they're more comfortable with. Display image: If you signed up through Google or Facebook, your default picture is taken directly from that account. You can change this image at any point. About: This section is initially blank, so members can write whatever they want to share. You can include images, videos and GIFs in this description. When you sign up as a new member, you can select a checkbox to join the ArtsKeeper community which makes their profile visible to others. You can change this at any time from their My Account page. You may also choose to keep your profile private. Private profile: Your details are only visible to you; other members cannot see this information. This is for members who just want to track their own activity on the ArtsKeeper site, which includes orders you place in the online store (when that's available.) Public profile: If you choose to have a public profile, other members can see your information and profile on the Members page, can follow their activity and can send you direct messages. Yes, ArtsKeeper can serve as your messaging tool for connecting with other members. No need to exit ArtsKeeper and use other means. ArtsKeeper believes it is important to have an arts community where members can support each other’s work, can provide assistance and can collaborate. However, the choice is yours whether to have a public or private profile. You may participate in the community if your profile is private, but nobody will know it’s you. You can also toggle between public and private at will. ArtsKeeper hopes you become a member and then take advantage of all the special features members get. More special features are being planned, so become a member now!

Forum - a place, meeting, or medium where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged. The ArtsKeeper is a place for everyone to express thoughts and share ideas. It is our place to communicate ideas in one of the categories below, or go ahead... create a new one! We have some interesting forum articles in the following categories... General Discussion Questions & Answers Available Jobs & Gigs Available Talent Advice & Articles Tributes Photography Poetry Short Stories Reviews Fine Art Music Who am I? Tell us a little about yourself. What is This? Fun guessing fame. Street Art Ideas Congratulations ArtsKeeper is made up of so many talented people - come read what's been shared, and add your own!

As many of you know, I am writing a book. I call it a novel. When asked what it is about, I say that it is a study of several characters. But that is not entirely true. This book is pieces of their lives. Each character expresses himself or herself differently. Jake in thoughts and extracts of his life, Dvora in her blog, Sharon in stories. Some want to express themselves and don't really know how. They express their reality. Or bits of it. They display parts of their world. To put it together, I use a structure, the structure of the Torah (the Jewish version of the first part of the Bible) written in 5 books and read in the synagogue (shul) in sections (parashot) throughout the year. When I went to the Chagall exhibit in Montreal, I saw bits and pieces of life on canvases, on walls, in costumes, in set design, on stained glass accompanied by music. When I write my book, I write bits and pieces of their lives as they come to me. To try to explain that I don't write in order, I have said that I am writing pieces of a puzzle, and then put them together. But that too is not entirely accurate. I do not know how to do puzzles. I just place them on my canvas of words where I think they belong. Somewhat like Chagall placing his characters and scenes on his canvas. Wow. An illumination. A revelation. The way I write my novel is the way I look at art, at the arts, all the arts and crafts . The way i understand the world. All the arts together as part of a disjointed whole. Apollinaire writes (I read this in the exhibit) all the arts are one: “Poets are preparing a new art that is more vast than the art of words alone. One day, they will direct an orchestra of prodigious dimensions, an orchestra that'll include the whole world, its sights and sounds, human though and language, song, dance, all the arts and all the artifices.” My vision for ArtsKeeper. All the arts are one and all art and artists integral parts of it. Does that sound too much like "all the world's a stage"? But not merely players. Important integral players without whom the art threatens to fail. How is it that others don't see it? How they don't see all the connections between writing, painting, music etc. like Chagall and Appolinaire did? Not only painting, but also music and sculpture. Aĺl the arts. I look at it as all the senses working together to create one gigantic work of art, to which all artists and artisans contribute in their own way. I wanted to understand how we organize our understanding of the world; so I studied philosophy. But with a few exceptions, our organization, our understanding, is lacking. So why not the organization of our pictures of the world as we express it in the theatre, music, movies, the circus (I cannot forget Chagall's clowns). Not only Chagall. I think of my friends. I think of David Kaufman a singer and poet who became a filmmaker and photographer. I think of Stephen Lack, an actor and painter, who did pictures for my first book of poetry. I think of Peter Adamakos who started a film company, Disada Productions. His memoires will be on this site. What we do need is to help artists, to give them (to give us) the infrastructure, the tools, the resources, the apps to make it easier. Not necessarily to create the art (that too sometimes), but to make it easier for them to create. That is ArtsKeeper. We look at what the artist needs and we put it into 4 categories, not necessarily the only or best categories, but useful ones: exposure, community, resources, and marketing. Enable the artist to expose his work, show it to others, his fellow artists, enthusiasts or fans, a group or the world, as he requires or wishes. Enable the artist to participate in his Community, be it a community of peers in a virtual artists colony, with his friends or with his fans or those who are interested in his/her art. Enable the artist by making it easier for him/her to have the tools and resources he/she needs. Enable the artist to market or sell his art or better put, earn money from his work. Some artists succeed beyond their dreams, and have exposure, community, resources and money. But most do not. Most struggle or eke out their existence. Would it not be great for patrons of the arts and there are many, large and small and those who have succeeded to help them out by donating, by investing, by volunteering time and talent to ArtsKeeper? Who is a patron? Anyone who helps, by giving money, a place to stay and create, tools, resources, even encouragement. Noah was commissioned by God to build an arc. Noah did not know how to do this project or have the money for it, so he went to his in laws. He thought that they would be his patrons. Shem's father in law was very well to do; he had many profitable investments. But unfortunately, not very generous. "Look at the risk inherent in the project, he said. Too risky for me to invest." Ham's father in law was a carpenter, perfect for helping him out. "I have too much to do, too many paying jobs. I'd love to but I have no time." Yephet's father in law was a self made man, who thought that independence builds character. "Never depend on anyone else" he said "just yourself. Otherwise you will owe success to others and if you fail, you will blame them for your failure." So maybe it's best not to look for help or investment from friends and family but from others who believe in you and your projects. We believe that ArtsKeeper will succeed in every way, bring help to artists who need it, help create the great canvas of all art, help us with advice, encouragement and talent and if it is an investment, result in fabulous profits. So I ask you, what is your art or craft? What drives you even when the prospect of making money seems far away? Or are you the enthusiast, the fan who loves jazz or a special kind of woodcarving? Or are you the patron, who wants to help certain artists? In any case, help ArtsKeeper. Tell us what you can do or wish to do, what you think ArtsKeeper can and should do, by filling out our online survey. ArtsKeeper is dedicated to helping artists with their needs, to make their lives better and to make the costs less for the patron and the enthusiast.

Artists use their imagination to write, to paint, to create or play music, to create, direct or act in movies, to design buildings, etc. Marketers use their imagination to create marketing plans. Good investors use their imagination to find good investments. Everyone uses his imagination. Pres. John F Kennedy once said: “Some people see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say, why not?” This was frequently repeated by his brother, Robert. I believe the original lines were said by the serpent to Eve in George Bernard Shaw’s play, Back to Methusaleh. We use our imagination for more than art, but art is the paradigm case of when we use our imagination. Not only professional artists use their imagination or create art works. How do you use your imagination? Do you create art? What kind? The role of ArtsKeeper is to help artists and support the arts. How can ArtsKeeper help you use your imagination?

It would be pretty impossible not to have noticed that there have been major changes to our lives over the last two years. It has affected the way we work, as well as the manner in which we shop and greet people. The trends of social interaction have definitely been challenged. As we fast approach our second anniversary of ‘Lockdowns’ and all that these changes have meant, we give thanks for being alive but miss the way we lived, worked and played. In my case, I miss the way I create and innovate. Maybe I should say a little about me: Well, I am Gibraltarian born and moved to the UK in 1985. I am married and have 3 children, all adults with their own families for which I am really pleased to say I am a grandfather to 5 smashing and lively grandchildren with number 6 due in August. My main role in working life has been as a Respiratory Nurse Consultant although I am semi-retired and loving having more time on my hands to pursue my hobbies, one of which is writing. I have written several professional papers and now written a few works of fiction which I self-published through Amazon. My writing aspiration is for someone to read my stories and maybe adapt one into a film or TV serial. The ones that lend themselves to this are the “Phantasms in the Infirmary” series and Mental Dental (Murder by Proxy) [R1] and its sequel Obsession of the Damned. If you were to ask me which was my favourite, it would definitely be Mental Dental (MBP)… so if one of you reads it, you will hopefully agree it is a nail-biting thriller with twists and turns to wrong foot the reader and make it an even more enjoyable read. Getting back on theme: My main job and function is to deliver respiratory care; writing a book is a pleasure. The pleasure of pursuing the idea and creating a relevant track and story line with interesting and innovative characters that the reader will relate to is why I write fiction. It is also a release from the seriousness of my nursing role. So the pandemic has been difficult for me to remain inspired and creative. Through Covid-19 there have been countless sad losses of colleagues who delivered care to our patients and lost their lives in this unselfish sacrifice. We lost neighbours, friends and in many instances, family. Although officially retired, I still maintain a degree of remote clinical work and therefore keep in touch with what is happening within the sphere of respiratory care. Many of the patients I was reviewing had been affected by the Corona Virus and its many variants. Some had been infected by the virus and survived to tell the tale, some had lost loved ones. I was especially saddened to hear of one of the patients I spoke to, an I.C.U. survivor who had contracted Covid-19 and had been intubated and ventilated for some time. Whilst in the induced coma, her husband had developed symptoms, was admitted to the same unit and had passed away. The sad moment was when she told me that when she was brought back from her coma, she was told about her husband’s death. Her voice broke and like me, she had developed a ‘lump in her throat,’ concentrated emotion, helplessness and anger, all mixed in to that moment! Like with this lady’s experience, there have been far too many deaths, sad experiences and loss! What has made the repeated lockdowns is that as a father and grandfather, the isolation and inability to see my kin, especially our grandchildren, brought a shadow to my heart and soul. We missed having time with the little ones, and the transition from seeing them at least 3 times a week to none was a bitter pill to swallow. Our youngest grandchild was born during the lockdowns and therefore we were unable to properly meet her, hold her and welcome her to the world. We did not get to hold and play with the other four and when we visited, from a distance, communicating through a fan light window or open door, it was heart wrenching for my wife and I. We so wanted to say ‘Hi’ properly but in doing so, we may have harmed them by spreading the bacterial invisible killer. The emptiness felt by so many was not all bad. This meant that we had time to spend at home and therefore lots of time to keep the house work ‘in check,’ to be creative, write, to strum my guitars and paint. The hours of solitude would serve to get the creative juices flowing and ideas onto paper, or PC! Wrong… for me, with the time, oodles of it, there were so many days, weeks and months with the lack of inspiration, ideas and drive that were accompanied by, blah. So what is “blah”? Well Greta Thunberg has adopted this to mean ‘empty words’ and according to the web, “blah” is used to refer to something which is boring or without meaningful content. It’s actually not far off the feeling of being held captive by this germ, locked down and locked in with a view to surviving and generating few if any ideas and appropriately, no words. So for heaven’s sake why not, why was so much time yielding so little if anything? With the time on our hands, the dream scenario of having legitimate time off and a licence to be imaginative, ingenious and clever, why could I not be bothered to write? Why was my time occupied by “blah”[R2] ? I was not working for a big corporation and therefore had no set goals or objectives to meet and push myself to remain functional. Some may have been okay with being within the same four walls and no separation from work and home environments. I personally struggled. I am an extrovert and having little social interaction is a driver: I needed that incentive of face to face to keep me “on point” and creative. I had some threads of ideas “pre-Lockdown 1” but they remained threads. I could not push myself beyond this; time on my hands seemed to be time wasted. Maybe this was because I thrive and work better under pressure? My many years working in the accident and emergency departments, I.C.U’s and critical care in general were forcing me to work at pace I could not cope with… It was too slow! Forcing myself to work, I used the differing hobbies to push me, spur me on and make my brain take charge. I became more disciplined and created the space to write and enable ways in which to labour the tasks, allowing much more rigid allocations of time for tasks with “Playtime” to rest the brain following on from the sp urts. I wrote 1000 words, read through them and then did something else. My synapses needed to be controlled as I flew from writer to painter and beyond. The novel way of working had finally shown to pay for itself. As we are spat out of the end phase of the pandemic, I look back over the last 23 months and summarise that I didn’t do too badly, all things considered. I’d cracked working from home and managed to meet my 5th grandchild and bond with her. I was able to make time to revise and improve on one of my novels, Mental Dental (Murder by Proxy), releasing it in hardback via Amazon. I have also finished a second draft to a children’s book I will be publishing soon, become adept at Zoom, delivered several lectures on COPD and asthma as well as having painted a front cover for a neurology journal. My only unmet goal is this: I have not written a number one song! To connect on twitter – please go to @Author_man_Ram or find me on: About.me/rpgulrajani and by all means visit Amazon and search Ram Gulrajani.