Does this happen? Yep, as stories follow life and without the lows, the highs will not entrance. Most people with an atom of sense will read a story blurb to see it the genre is something they like and then they will go on to read the first three chapters offered for free on Amazon. Most people with a molecule of gray matter will also read the reviews and see where the majority opinion lies.

Yes, there are going to be some hysterical diatribes condemning the story for all sorts of reasons. Some of these will be because the person grabbed a free or discounted book without bothering to see if it fitted their reading needs. Others may be offended by certain content, or what they have misinterpreted, having read one word and jumped about three miles high to the wrong conclusion. One person went to every single Amazon site, whether English speaking or not, to diss a book that was the same genre as that person’s soon to be published book. (1 week later). Another person decided to set up a reviewing blog and in order to get people to pay for these, began dissing authors at random with slanderous remarks on the reviews left. This is despite this person’s blog stating they never say nasty things about the author. Mmmm, right. To all of this the author must never respond. Basically, it is a ‘don’t feed the trolls’ imperative.

So, for a moment, lets just look at the earliest forms of literature of a mostly non-religious nature. I am talking about fairly stories, the ones Disney has capitalised on and the ones we read our kids at night.

Cinderella. Insignificant girl is abused by her stepmother and sisters, takes up offer of unfair magical entrapment goodies to snag prince.

Sapsorrow. King’s daughter flees home to live in filthy state to avoid having to marry her own father. Uses stolen bridal dresses to ensnare prince.

Beauty and the Beast. Father trades away daughter to save himself from beast, whom she eventually promises to marry. Early bestiality thoughts? He turns into prince, but she didn’t know he would.

There is more than an element of horror in fairy stories and yet we read them to children. Beauty or the reverse is in the eye of the beholder. It is not so much what is said, but how it is interpreted  and presented.

Words going out of fashion and usage..

On the subject of bargains and scams..

Catch up and competition!.

I made a decision this morning on opening my email. I am going to cut down on the number of groups I had joined, namely the ones where negativity seems to not only thrive but be actively nurtured. I don’t have time for this. I don’t need a downer to start my day. Next on my list of unfollows are sites so profoundly wrapped up in rules and regulations that a person can’t sneeze without getting moderated. I had several of these I haven’t visited for months because of this and they were beginning to create a log jam in my sidebar on FB. Oh and some of the negative ones are also the over-moderated.

The plan is to go through five sites a week and see if I really want or need to be there. These are not ones I contribute to on a regular basis so it is highly unlikely my absence will be even noticed. However, time clawed back to be used in a more productive manner.

A few weeks back I was perusing, or at least trying to peruse shops for china. First off, one of my favorites has disappeared from the face of the planet. Fine, I can get over that. So we go to the departmental stores, namely Sears and the Bay.  The first was a washout. Well, I guess it might be as the word is that Sears are pulling in their horns. I had higher hopes for the Bay, (Hudson Bay Company), as I have spent many a happy hour wandering through their fine china. Nope, not this time. All gone except about three types of rather bland white china.

Why? No point asking the employees, who will give the stock answer that there was no call for such things. However, I can make an educated guess. Most of the finest china was not dishwasher safe. Sure, this is very expensive and people would have a regular set of china for everyday use, but times have changed dramatically from the last century to this one. Yes, dishwashers have been around for decades, so what is different? Time and custom.

At one time, it was the norm for a household to rely on a single income with the wife, or husband staying home to raise the kids. Not so much now with tax breaks for childcare and way more expensive living conditions. It has made for homes where time is important as it is restricted by circumstances of both working. After marriage and before having kids, it is very much the norm for there to be two incomes, which leads to a reliance on labor-saving devices, such as the dishwasher. Now people are conditioned to use it if they have one and will do so even if one of them stays home after the kids as this is a proven way to get more time for important things, like raising a child.  It means the choice of fancy china is not going to happen because it must be washed by hand. Yep, that is always a chore. How many people with dishwashers also have draining trays and loads of tea towels?  I don’t possess either one, so when I wash my fine china I have to improvise.

Times are changing and I didn’t get the china I was after.