Showing 1 - 8 of 8
End of fossil fuel?
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 20/12/2019
» I'm not a linguist. I'm not proud of it. English is my first and only language, which is not to say that it's the only language worth knowing. I studied other languages in school, but couldn't get the hang of them. Neither am I well-versed in English. I'm not being modest. I look at Webster and Oxford with a groan.
Expert Advice
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 13/04/2018
» In several Peanuts comic strips, little Lucy sets up a booth. For a nickel she'll solve a problem bothering you. Her advice is quite good, indicating insight unlikely in the young. The thing about advice is that virtually everyone offers it, asked for or not, free and costly.
Pulling it all together
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 21/07/2017
» What I learned from years of backpacking is that there's no single pattern of development. Every country I've been to has had its unique history, which is why the prospect of globalisation is incongruous and why mother countries couldn't hold on to their colonies.
Jack the lad
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 16/09/2016
» It is common practice that when a popular author passes away, his estate seeks a replacement to step into his shoes. The new man is expected to emulate the original style to the extent possible. If notes have been left for future plots, so much the better.
The War on drugs
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 09/05/2016
» Drugs are a trillion-dollar business and the so-called War on Drugs is under-financed. So much is paid to the powers that be to turn a blind eye that those who fight the good fight deserve the credit they get when busting a drug ring.
Yes? No? Maybe?
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 15/09/2014
» We know what history and historical fiction is, but pseudo-history? It is fiction made to seem fact. Untrue, yet commonly believed. The origins of religions is an example, founded by an interplay between God and humans. Another is how countries came to be, such as Romulus and Remus raised by wolves. Brits are pretty sure that Robin Hood was a literary creation, but tend to accept King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
An author’s lament
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 18/08/2014
» As a critic, I've been taken to task more than a few times by authors whose books I gave a thumbs down. They often query why, when writing a review, I overlook the time and effort that it takes to get the manuscripts published? It takes as long and is at least as hard as the writing, they say and they are right. My defence is that the proof of the pudding is in the eating, not the preparation.
That word again
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 11/03/2013
» I was taught in school that the most commonly used letter in the English language is "e" and the word most often spoken or written is "the". However, from what I learned in the real world I must disagree. Actually, "eff" is the most basic, essential, keyword _ employed as noun, verb, adverb, adjective.