Monday, June 26, 2017
A Small Gang of Authors: Tidbits of history I learned while traveling. #Our...
A Small Gang of Authors: Tidbits of history I learned while traveling. #Our...: My life consists of gallivanting from one country to another one. One of the many times I have been in Barcelona, I learned about Gaudi. ...
Tidbits of history I learned while traveling. #OurAuthorGang
My life consists of gallivanting from one country to another one. One of the many times I have been in Barcelona, I learned about Gaudi. As his birthday was yesterday, I saw it apropos to write about him.
Yesterday, June 25, we celebrated the birthday of Antoni Gaudi, born in 1852 in (unknown city) Cataluña, Spain.
Gaudi was the son of laborers and as a child lived in Reux, Cataluña.
From an early age, he showed an interest in architecture, but because he was from a poor family he needed to work to pay for his studies.
He was not a good student, his style was different from what the teachers wanted. At his graduation, the professor presenting his diplomas said: “We are in the presence of a genius or a madman”. Actually, he was a little bit of both.
To get the connections needed to acquire the kind of work he wanted, he started to dress well and to patronize the fashionable and high-class establishments of the era.
In one of those outings, he met the very rich Catalan industrialist Eusebi Güell. Whom became his friend and his patron, commissioning many buildings and giving Gaudi carte blanche.
Gaudy only used the best of materials and if he did not like something after it was done, he would knock it down and start from scratch once again and as many times as needed.
Gaudi was eccentric and difficult to work with. He had a vision in his head and he expected everybody to see it as he did.
You can see most of his work all over Barcelona. Whether you like his style or not, you have to admit that he had a great imagination.
He became rich, however, he lived as a pauper. Most of the time he used to live in the places that he worked, as to no waste time coming and going. He used to put a mattress on the floor, have a few necessities and that was it.
The Sagrada Familia was his last work and he knew that he was not going to see it finish. That is why he left many drawings and explanations for the future work of other architects.
What he did not count on, was the civil war. During the war obviously they have to stop work, and the military wanted to destroy the church like they destroyed many other churches. However, the military realized that they could put the canons in the towers and shoot the attackers from there, so, they kept the church. After the civil war, the work on the church resumed.
Gaudi was a very religious man and attended mass twice a day at Sant Felip Neri Church in the Gothic neighborhood.
One day at the age of 74, as he was walking toward the church for his daily Mass and confession, a trolley hit him. The driver pushed the body to the side of the street and left it there because he thought it was a homeless man.
Two people came to his aid, and called a taxi to take him to the hospital, however, the taxi driver refused because he did not want his taxi to get all bloody by a homeless man.
Finally, he was taken to the hospital where he was left in a hallway because he did not have an ID on him, and once again, because by his attire and his poor hygiene, they thought he was homeless.
Not until the next day when everybody was looking for him, the hospital realized who he was.
However, by then it was too late. On June 10, 1926, two days after being admitted to the hospital, he passed away.
The funeral procession was attended by all of Barcelona’s residents and dignitaries.
He is buried in a crypt at the Sagrada Familia.
The Sagrada Familia And in my humble opinion, it will never be finished, because this way it is unique and a greater tourist attraction.
 |
| Park Güell |
Saturday, June 24, 2017
A Small Gang of Authors: Goofy Post Day at #OurAuthorGang
A Small Gang of Authors: Goofy Post Day at #OurAuthorGang: By Erika My idea of dressing up had always been comfi, faded jeans and t-shirt since I was a very young child. My mother's idea, ...
Goofy Post Day at #OurAuthorGang
By Erika
My idea of dressing up had always been comfi, faded jeans and t-shirt since I was a very young child. My mother's idea, on the other hand, was fluffy dresses, adorned with lots of lace, and huge bows in my hair. Gosh, I hated those bows! I remember the day when this picture was taken in the photographer's studio.
I felt miserable, and it shows in the picture. No matter what my mom promised or even threatened to take away, I refused to smile.
Mom didn't give up to have a perfect picture taken of me dressed in her favorite outfit, so when we got home, she made me pose under the acacia tree that was filled with flowers. Unnoticed by her because she was busy setting the camera, I inched my way closer and closer to the tree branches.
To my great satisfaction, the hated bow got caught and tangled in the branch and when I yanked my head, the sharp thorns ripped the silk bow to shreds.
One glance at mom's angry eyebrows told me I was in big trouble, so I started running toward the front porch to reach the safety of my dad's embrace that always saved me from my mother's wrath. But in my haste, I stepped into the dog's water bowl, skidded, and fell into the muddy flower bed that dad just finished watering. My fluffy dress was ruined but the pitiful look on my face must have softened mom's anger because she quietly put the camera away and never again forced me to wear the enormous bows and fluffy dresses.
By Rick
Here I sit, all alone on our faded cream sofa.
My feet are hanging over one of the dark wooden arms, as my hand grasps the tumbler ever tighter.
The half-empty bottle on the coffee table speaks volumes, as my eyes shed droplets like the whiskey tears running down the outside of the glass.
Was it only last week that she packed her bags and left, clearing out the bank account on her way to meet her new lover?
Someone I knew so very, very well; my mate and my best friend.
I really, really . . . miss him.
"I wonder what's closer. The moon, or China."
"The moon."
"How do you know?"
"Duh! I can see the moon!"
Picture credit: the author's own photos, and created by the author using purchased Adobe or Fotolia photos
COMMENTS
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Computer software for authors… #amwriting #amediting #OurAuthorGang
In this competitive market, your manuscript has to shine,
regardless of how you hope to publish it. An agent isn't going to look twice at
a manuscript full of school-boy errors, and if you are thinking about
self-publishing, then your book needs to be at least as good as those produced
by the big publishing houses. A Copy Editor (Line Editor) is a must, but there
is also a great deal of software out there that states it can help you with the writing process, but also with the editing as well — a bold claim indeed.
So today, I thought we would
look at some of the software that is out there for purchase. Please feel free
to write in the comment below if you have had success with the software
I am going to show you today.
*Please note. I do not endorse any of the companies or software
below. The blurb under the logos are the companies own words, not mine!*
Scrivener is a powerful
content-generation tool for writers that allows you to concentrate on composing
and structuring long and difficult documents. While it gives you complete
control of the formatting, its focus is on helping you get to the end of that awkward
first draft.
Our
software helps turn your good writing into great writing.
Improve
readability and eliminate errors.
Grammarly
makes sure everything you type is easy
to read, effective, and mistake-free.
Communicate
quickly and accurately with Ginger Page's one stop writing shop – writing tools
that help you express yourself better.
Meet your new critique partner.
The fresh
set of eyes your manuscript needs.
Instant,
unbiased feedback without the hassle
Save time
and take control of the editing process.
Polish
your manuscript and write better fiction.
Expresso
is a little tool to edit texts and improve your writing style. It will teach
you to express yourself through writing more efficiently and help make your
texts more readable, precise, and engaging.
Scribophile
is a respectful online writing workshop and writer’s community. Writers of all
skill levels join to improve each other’s work with thoughtful critiques and by
sharing their writing experience.
StyleWriter
will make you a better writer – we guarantee it. A bold claim we know, but
that’s what our users tell us. Thousands of people download StyleWriter every
month and use it to edit advertising copy, business reports, contracts,
manuals, newsletters or web pages. Even professional journalists and novelists
use the program to polish their writing style.
If you're
working on contracts, proposals, reports, technical documents, articles and
books, PerfectIt saves time on copy-editing, so that authors can pay more
attention to what matters most: the words and their meaning.
Hemingway
makes your writing bold and clear. It's like a spellchecker, but for style. It
makes sure that your readers will focus on your message, not your pose.
So there we have it. A list of software that claims they can help you with your writing and editing. Which software, if any, do you use? Let me know below.
Thanks for reading!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Advertise with us
Subscribe To Stories 4 You
Posts
All Comments