distraction

one of the most mysterious of semi-speculations is, one
would suppose, that of one Mind’s imagining into another

JOHN KEATS,
note on his copy of Paradise Lost, I.59-94

I apologize for the long interval in between posts! I’ve been trying to process and gather thoughts for another installment of ‘The Book,’ and have been channeling my creative energy into it. I don’t believe I have writer’s block anymore, I believe I have writer’s distraction. It’s a condition where I attempt to process life in its many facets and grooves (haha), and ultimately it’s that life that gets in my way…

And on that note, I’m no where close to where I want to be in the story-writing process. If you’ve actually read or heard portions of the first book, ‘The Crutches of Desire,’ it was an immediate remedy which only took six months to write, after having left it alone for a whole year. I’m humbled to say that I’m still fairly fond of it and attached to it on so many levels, that moving onto another is like abandonment or some form of literary neglect. But I know I must…

So life is in the distraction department, which is an attempt to explain my absence from blogging. Good enough reason? Probably not, but it’ll have to do for now…

the math of rumors

It only takes that one mistaken word or that suggestion/false accusation to ruin one’s reputation – and a possibly eternity to correct its damage.

In trying to decipher ways of conducting research on rumors, I actually discovered an interesting article on exactly that. The article is called Rumor Has It, and it’s in The Public Relations Strategist Summer 2007 issue. The whole issue actually deals with crisis management, and outlines actual cases and various problem-solving tools and methods.

The area that I found most compelling – was learning that there’s a science to rumors. You can actually control rumors mathematically if you so desired!

According to the article, under The Basic Law Of Rumor:

A formula for the intensity of rumor can be written like this: R˜ i x a

Rumor = subject importance to individuals x ambiguity of evidence pertaining to topic

Based on this equation if either variables are zero, then there is no rumor. This is because ambiguity alone cannot sustain a rumor. By the same rules, an ‘incremental decline’ in either can result in a ‘greater-than-incremental’ decline in the scope of the rumor. One could expand on that train of thought…and say the converse for the ‘incremental incline’.

The article hosts interesting laws, axioms and arguments that are both intriguing and logical – but suggesting that one can systematically control a rumor is quite a statement.

Question: would it provide ease at any stage?

dudley vs dorimant

“And though companionship of the flesh pales in comparison to the strength of our love – I am but a man after all.” - Robert Dudley

One of my favourite romantic tales is of Robert Dudley & Queen Elizabeth I. Dudley was captivated by her and repeatedly asked her to marry him, each time resulting in a refusal. He repeatedly professed his love to her, and she did nothing but toy with his emotions and turn down his gestures. Though she was bonded to him in inexplicable ways, it’s believed that he was her one and only true love, despite his marriage to other women, including her cousin - which sent her into a rage. Elizabeth didn’t marry or have children, though it’s fair to say that she lived a very strong, inspiring and fulfilling life – at a great expense.

The love story and era of Elizabeth I is inspiring to me on many different levels, and was a very abstract muse for my short story, The Crutches of Desire. British actor Tom Hardy plays Robert Dudley in the movie, The Virgin Queen, and does a phenomenal job portraying Dudley, gallant in nature and eternally chivalrous. Hardy also plays the cunning and coldhearted bachelor Dorimant in a British stage play called Man of Mode. It’s these characters, Dudley and Dorimant, and Hardy himself who ultimately constitute the character ‘Dorimant’ in The Crutches.

An exploration into their worlds - the love story in The Crutches is both dynamic and excessive and exploits both Dudley and Dorimant’s polar opposite personalities and emotional tendencies, within the character Dorimant, with the unnamed protagonist.

The programmers at TVO have decided to pay homage to the day of love, with one of the sweetest of love stories — airing the first part of The Virgin Queen series on Valentines Day at 9 p.m.