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SINGLES’ DAY: The World’s Biggest Shopping Day

12/3/2021

TODAY IS DECEMBER 3
The most significant but uninteresting event occurring on December 3 ‒ for all times, it appears ‒ was when Sir Thomas Herriot introduced potatoes to England from Columbia in 1586. This actually proved to be the most significant factor for population expansion and agricultural enhancement across Europe. These benefits ultimately allowed for the rapid industrialization and military conquest launched by select European nations.

Be that as it may, this blog does not have anything to do with December 3. The subject is about the biggest worldwide shopping day.

SINGLES’ DAY
What? You’re a shopping aficionado and you’ve never heard of it? Well, let me tell you… I hadn’t either, until I did research for my blog Black Friday Around The World. I’m just a regular dinosaur these days.

According to Wikipedia (but no other source I found) Singles' Day was originally called Bachelors' Day. It is an unofficial Chinese holiday to celebrate people who are not in relationships.

Singles’ Day originated in China in 1993. A group of lonely, yet positive, students at Nanjing University came up with the idea. These male students conceived the idea of celebrating the fact they were all single and without a girlfriend. The four roommates were tired of the day to day life as ‘single dogs’ as they are called in China and wanted to change this. They decided that instead of lamenting their lack of a significant other, they would instead celebrate being single, and selected November 11, 1993 as the debut date.

Initially there was no commercial aspect or intent. Subsequent to November 11, 1993, the date became a kind of anti-Valentine’s Day celebration of singledom which caught on and spread across universities throughout China and Southeat Asia, generally characterized by fun, harmless events.

Image source: millionairedating.onluxy.com/china-singles-day

One student, for example, reserved every other seat in a movie theater, prohibiting couples from sitting next to each other during a screening of Beijing Love Story, an aptly named romantic film. Image Source: telegraph.co.uk/chinas-singles-day ▼

The Singles’ Day has also been adopted by the Chinese as sort of a Valentine’s Day for couples. In Beijing, 4,000 couples got married on November 11, compared to the average of 700 per day.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?
The date for the observation of singledom was not selected at random. There are number of reasons. First, 11/11 looks like four, single sticks, strung together trying to make the most out of their time, and the date has become the symbol of the holiday.

Second, the date, November 11 (11/11), was chosen because the numeral 1 resembles a bare stick which apparently is Chinese Internet slang for an unmarried man who does not add 'branches' to the family tree.

Now, Singles’ Day, is the busiest and most lucrative shopping day in the world, enjoyed by single men and women, and married ones, too.
How did that happen?

IT IS ALWAYS ABOUT MONEY
The holiday in China went along for about a decade as a day for fun, planks, and shopping, a day with single folks celebrating their freedom, until the CEO of one of the largest online purchasing companies in the world, Alibaba, based in China, recognized the commercial potential.

Singles’ Day was kicked into high gear in 2009 when Alibaba created and heavily promoted the first Singles’ Day shopping festival from November 1 thru 11 that year, sparking a trend that has now surpassed Cyber Monday in single-day transactions.

Alibaba has turned the day into a festival week of performances and activities. Stars appearing at the gala performance the night before the 11/11 shopping sales start, include Nicole Kidman and Jesse Alba 2017, Taylor Swift at Alibaba's Shanghai event in 2019, and Katy Perry performing in a livestream in 2020. Not merely a shopping event, the holiday is also a day when people can party to socialize and meet other people, as well as practicing traditions that celebrate the single life. Jesse Alba stars at 2017 Alibaba Singles’ Day Festivities ▼
Image Source: adweek.com/performance-marketing/singles-day

Worldwide in 2019, shoppers spent $7.4 billion US dollars during the Black Friday weekend and an additional $9.4 billion on Cyber Monday. Even when combined, these numbers come nowhere close to Singles’ Day spending of $38 billion dollars. Source: techradar.com/news/singles-day-officially-bigger

There has been a slow down in the Chinese market in the past couple of years for certain political reasons, but the phenomenon of “Single’s Day” shopping has spread worldwide, supported heavily in Southeast Asia.

WHAT MORE COULD A GIRL WANT?
Exactly! Another day to legitimately spend two or three days shopping… and, hopefully, enough money to do it right.

China - Image Credit: Alibaba Shoppers in Poland
Image Source: techradar.com/news/singles-day Image Source: polki.pl/praca-i-finanse/pieniadze,udane-zakup

In a sense, it is not so much which countries acknowledge the day as it is which online retailers promote the event with sales and promotions, similar to Cyber Monday. In the United Kingdom it is called National Singles Day, but it is celebrated on March 11. Indonesia celebrates on 11/11 and has dubbed it “Harbolnas” or National Online Shopping Day.
▲ On of the problems in China is the leftover trash from Singles Day
Image Source: wlz-online.de/verbraucher/singles-day

MediaMarkt, a German company, promotes Singles' Day in their stores in Germany and throughout Europe. In Belgium public reaction has been somewhat negative since November 11 is the anniversary of the Armistice that ended WWI and a day of commemoration of the war dead in Belgium.

In 2016, Swedish electronics retailer Elgiganten promoted a Singles’ Day campaign in Norway before implementing it in the other Nordic countries in 2017. Singles’ Day has yet to reach the Western and Southern Hemispheres, but who knows?

USA - HOME SWEET HOME
The American public is unlikely to embrace November 11 as a national shopping day. In part because we have our own frenzied holiday shopping days, but primarily that is because that date is Veterans Day which, hopefully, is far more important to US citizens than holiday shopping. Singles Awareness Day is the US was created primarily from the same feelings of isolation that started Singles’ Day in China.

“Around 2001, Dustin Barnes decided to create a day for his group of friends to enjoy their singleness rather than drown in their sorrows. This group of high school boys not only chose February 15 as a protest of Valentine’s Day but also realized they could score candy and love-themed items at a huge discount." Dustin carried the tradition from his high school on to Mississippi State University, where the holiday gained popularity.
nationaltoday.com/singles-awareness-day/

Singles Awareness Day was copyrighted in 2005 and continued to grow from there. Not surprising! The Census Bureau indicates that about one third of the adult population in the US reports themselves as single or not in an ongoing relationship.

Adults of all ages celebrate the day as a reminder that you don’t need a relationship to celebrate love. You can love yourself, your family, and your friends. There’s no reason to feel lonely around Valentine’s Day when love is all around you. And it doesn’t cost you a penny.

JUST SAYIN
□
Sources:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/singles-day.asp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alibaba_Group
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/singles%27_day
https://nationaltoday.com/singles-day/
https://www.techradar.com/news/singles-day-officially-bigger-than-black-friday-and-cyber-monday-combined
https://www.adweek.com/commerce/americans-shopping-more-nov-11-dont-call-singles-day/
https://millionairedating.onluxy.com/china-singles-day-alibaba-online-shopping.html
http://www.polki.pl/praca-i-finanse/pieniadze,udane-zakup
https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/10/business/china-singles-day-intl-hnk/index.html
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/black-friday/0/what-is-chinas-singles-day-and-how-does-it-compare-to-black-frid/
https://www.k-international.com/blog/shopping-holidays-around-the-world/
https://www.marketing91.com/top-10-alibaba-competitors/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singles_Awareness_Day
https://nationaltoday.com/singles-awareness-day/
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/estimates-families-living-arrangements.html
https://theopinionator.com/its-singles-day-the-most-ginormous-shopping-day-of-the-year/

https://news.yahoo.com/singles-day-alibabas-annual-event-054530003.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEqviMSHGHA6tM4wHXNDRT-2J3DXhhDohXlWcsPP-7EmjTtIEp7fMolLjY_nZAqfPj_G6F30t0qTrFkzYvyUJnaAe1S4uF5n15OZDU6__M

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/economics/chinas-singles-day-and-the-war-of-ideas/news-story/8badd70feceabb08c27ccae9bad0b49b

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/singles%27_day#:~:text=the%20holiday%20has%20now%20become%20the%20largest%20physical,usd%20%2444.5%20billion%20total%20sales%20volume%20in%202017.

https://www.wlz-online.de/verbraucher/singles-day-black-friday-china-usa-amazon-alibaba-einkaufen-shoppen-rabatte-angebote-cyber-monday-umsatz-zr-90096077.html

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Black Friday Around The World

11/26/2021

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THE CHALLENGE
You may know all about Black Friday, but here’s the challenge. Ask anyone born after 1990 if they know the origin of the term “Black Friday”.

Chances are none of them will have a clue, other than it's a Friday for special sales. Not even as the day after Thanksgiving or Holiday Sales, since many retailers now advertise Black Friday sales throughout the year.

WILL THE REAL BLACK FRIDAY STAND UP?
The first use of the term came about in relation to a specific financial crisis in the United State: the collapse of the Gold Market on September 24, 1869.

This collapse occurred when two stock brokers, Jay Gould and Jim Frisk ‒ who had already engaged in stock fraud and bribery ‒ collaborated in a scheme to cheat Wall Street investors by manipulating the Gold Market. The subsequent crash was called “Black Friday” by the financial world, the press, and those who lost money. Note: a good description of the event can be found by clicking here.

Scene in the New York Gold room during the excitement of September 24th, 1869
Image credit:. Library of Congress
Image Source: pbs.org/wgbh/black-friday/

Until the 1950s and ‘60s, “Black Friday” and “Black any-other-day” had been associated with financial disasters.

BLACK FRIDAY REBORN
Any number of stories exist about the rebirth of the “Black Friday” phenomenon we experience today, and each year I find a new version.

Some believe the term found new life in the 1950’s when factory managers referred to the day after Thanksgiving as "Black Friday" because so many workers called in sick.

However, the most direct trail leads back to the Philadelphia Police Department in 1966 when the police began using the term to mean the day after Thanksgiving, the official opening of the Christmas shopping season, which brought massive traffic jams, over-crowded sidewalks, a rash of shoplifting, and general chaos. In addition, the annual Army-Navy football game was played on the last weekend of November and brought its own crowd, traffic, and problems.

Image Credit: Shopify Black Friday Philadelphia
Image Source: usupdates.com/black-friday-history Image Source: philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/police

Needless to say, the police hated that day ‒ no day off for them ‒ and the nomicker was applied in an uncomplimentary way. The people in Philadelphia didn't like the negative connotation and tried to change the term to "Big Friday" but it didn't stick. Gradually the name “Black Friday” for the first day after Thanksgiving came to mean the beginning of holiday shopping.

AMERICAN INGENUITY SAVES THE ECONOMY
Popularity and common usage grew, and by the 1970s and 80s retailers throughout the US aborted the dreaded name and complained about the negative connotations. I doubt that at that point the general public even remembered the tie to financial disaster, but apparently the merchants had not.

So, being the innovative business people that we are, someone realized that this day was the point in the year when retail businesses ‒ which traditionally operated at a loss or “in the red” ‒ started making profits and operated “in the black”. Retail interests made sure that this positive spin was publicized and ‒ Ta-dah! ‒ then the merchants loved it, and the shoppers loved the sales.

RE-REBIRTH AS A GLOBAL EVENT
The internet and the 2020 pandemic can be thanked for the expansion of Black Friday Christmas sales morphing into year-round sales events and on-line purchasing, primarily to keep businesses alive during the shut-down. It certainly eased the stress a little by being able to purchase “without contact”. During the five-day Thanksgiving weekend of 2020, shoppers still spent an average of $311.75 on holiday purchases, only 1.7% down from 2019. blackfriday.com/news/black-friday-history

The other result was the almost sudden expansion of the phenomenon throughout the world. Of course, global expansion had been happening slowing with the accessibility of internet purchasing but the COVID virus gave it a kick in the butt… so to speak.

Now there are at least 195 countries which have a “Black Friday” which features pre-holiday or other sales (since some of these countries are not Christian, such as Saudi Arabia).
But alas, most of the 195 countries do not celebrate Thanksgiving, and for them there is no day after Thanksgiving. There is, however, a fourth Friday in November, which many countries have adopted as the day to begin the holiday sales. In some places, Black Friday falls on other dates.

Of course, it is not an official holiday anywhere and in most of these countries no one gets a day off as many do in the US, which was one of the main reasons for Americans to begin their holiday shopping. Note: I presume the photos below were all taken prior to 2020.

United Kingdom Saudi Arabia
Image Source: mirror.co.uk/news/black-friday-2014 Image Source: youtube.com/watch?v=_2LDvAJi7dI

Italy Japan
Image Credit: gettyimages.com.au/aeon-news-photo Image Credit: gettyimages.com.au/aeon-news-photo

I didn’t read anything or see any photos that implied that the residents of other countries are any more ‒ or less ‒ polite and civilized in their shopping behavior than Americans. It’s a zoo wherever you shop on Black Friday weekend.

Image source: distractify.com/p/black-friday-fights

Image Source: dailymail.co.uk/Black-Friday-shoppers-arrested

Worldwide, Black Friday is still not the busiest or most lucrative shopping date in the world. That, believe it or not, is “Singles Day”. Spain and the United Arab Emirates — both countries with dedicated Amazon markets — have jumped on the Singles Day trend and the US may soon join in the Singles Day shopping trend (a subject for another blog).

TAKE AWAY
I find it interesting that changes in society take place so slowly or so subtly that no one seems to have the foresight to see or think about what direction trends are going. No one is recording anything much in the way of history. So much change occurs that isn’t big or political, yet any history we have appears to be created after the fact. That results in so many unknowns about where things originated and how the evolution occurred.

Perhaps in this “ME” era when everyone has the internet to express their opinions and observations to a large audience (whether or not the audience wants to hear it), and want to talk about everything including their sex life and the color of their underwear, our historical information will be more accurate… or maybe not!

I guess I’m being unrealistic. Anyone can write anything on the internet, whether or not it’s correct or corroborated and can do it anonymously. No one ever checks, and everyone seems to believe anything on the internet.

JUST SAYIN
□
2021 Sources:
https://usupdates.com/black-friday-history-2295.html
https://samdamretail.be/blog/black-friday-history-popularity-europe/
https://www.history.com/news/the-black-friday-gold-scandal-145-years-ago
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/grant-black-friday/
https://www.junglescout.com/blog/black-friday-around-the-world/
https://www.holidayscalendar.com/event/black-friday/#:~:text=This%20crisis%20was%20the%20collapse%20of%20the%20United,into%20a%20free-fall%20that%20eventually%20caused%20its%20collapse.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/black-friday-2014-three-arrested-4710327
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2LDvAJi7dI
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2515911/Black-Friday-shoppers-arrested-Virginia-man-35-sliced-bone.html
https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/customers-shop-during-the-black-friday-sale-at-an-aeon-news-photo/6255698026
https://www.ilgiornaledipantelleria.it/shopping-scatenato-con-il-black-friday-venerdi-23-novembre-in-tutta-italia/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_%28shopping%29#:~:text=%20Black%20Friday%20around%20the%20world%20%201,originated%20within%20the%20Police%20and%20NHS...%20More%20
2020 Sources:
https://mashable.com/shopping/black-friday-2020-future-predictions/
https://www.techradar.com/news/black-friday-deals-2019
https://www.hbs.edu/news/releases/Pages/koehnblackfriday.aspx
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/02/black-friday-is-over-heres-why-retailers-are-touting-weeks-of-deals.html
https://www.theblackfriday.com/what-is-black-friday.shtml
https://www.hbs.edu/news/releases/Pages/koehnblackfriday.aspx
https://www.marketplace.org/2011/11/25/history-black-friday/
https://www.crushthestreet.com/articles/precious-metals/black-day-week-started-gold-friday
https://www.distractify.com/p/black-friday-fights
https://www.hoskinsandturco.com/blog/the-deals-and-dangers-of-black-friday-five-most-insane-injuries/
https://corporate.target.com/press/releases/2014/11/target-shoppers-nationwide-score-doorbusters-as-bl
2016 Resources
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2011/11/25/the-little-known-philadelphia-origins-of-black-friday/
http://www.philly.com/philly/...Black_Friday_started_in_Philly.html%20-
http://en.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/20879/20141125/history-of-black-friday.htm
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/commentary/history-black-friday
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/grant-black-friday/
http://www.vocabulary.com/articles/wordroutes/the-origins-of-black-friday/
https://blackfriday.com/pages/black-friday-history
http://mentalfloss.com/article/31581/brief-history-black-friday
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/11/black-friday-is-not-the-biggest-shopping-day-of-the-year/
http://www.snopes.com/holidays/thanksgiving/shopping.asp

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THANKSGIVING CELEBRATIONS AROUND THE WORLD

11/19/2021

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GOD BLESS AMERICA
Most of us are aware of the history behind the Pilgrims and the first American Thanksgiving in 1621. It is an important national celebration in the United States – as it should be -- but Americans are a bit presumptuous to think the pilgrims “invented” Thanksgiving.

Pilgrims first Thanksgiving at Plymouth by Jean Louis Gerome Ferris
Image Credit: Bettmann Archieve via Getty Images
Image Source: amazon.com/Thanksgiving-Gerome-Ferris

In fact, it is a matter of historic debate where the first Thanksgiving feast was held in North America and by whom, including two locations in Texas, two in Florida, one in Maine, two in Virginia, and five in Massachusetts. I didn't realize there were so many colonies and expeditions before 1621. Also, I noticed the articles referenced didn't list where those sites were located or who made the claims.

More than two sources, however, cited the first known Thanksgiving feast in North America as being celebrated in Palo Duro Canyon, Texas panhandle, in 1541 by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and the "Tejas" of the Hasinai group of Caddo-speaking Native Americans. Who knew?

HARVEST FESTIVALS
Hundreds, and more likely thousands, of years before the fifteenth century, there were harvest festivals and celebrations held by nearly every agrarian culture in the world. These ancient peoples depended on an adequate autumn harvest to feed the population through the winter, and they understood that sun, rain, and good earth were required to make that happen. These natural phenomenon became worshiped as gods in many cultures, and harvest festivals the world over were oriented to celebrate the harvest, thank their local deities for a bountiful year, and/or pray for either continued good fortune or for a better harvest the next year.

Lughnasad, Celtic Harvest Festival
Image Source: historicmysteries.com/lughnasadh

This ancient tradition, religious and non-religious, sets the stage for worldwide “Thanksgiving” days.

THANKSGIVING AROUND THE WORLD
The same basic elements that went into the first North American Thanksgiving, wherever it was, are embraced by other countries and reflected in their national holidays in other parts of the world. Some of them are harvest feasts of harvest and thanks completely unrelated to the U.S. holiday, and others are versions of the American tradition, albeit with modifications. Many are held on or near the fourth Thursday in November, while others are as early as September.

CANADA
The first Canadian Thanksgiving was held in 1578 ‒ about 40 years prior to the celebration at Plymouth ‒ Sir Martin Frobisher and his crew in Nunavut, giving thanks for the safety of their fleet.

Later, such festivities drew inspiration from similar European holidays and gave early settlers a way to appreciate the fruits of a successful harvest. Canada’s first official Thanksgiving was held on November 6, 1859.

GERMANY
Germany’s Thanksgiving equivalent is known as Erntedankfest, which translates to ”harvest thanksgiving festival.” There is evidence that Erntedankfest celebrations happened thousands of years ago as pagan festivals.

Image Source: allthatsinteresting.com/Germany

Today Erntedankfest is a religious holiday for both the Catholic and Protestant churches. The altar is decorated with sheaves of wheat, and the fruits of the harvest. There is singing, celebration, and often a second service in the evening. After the second service, churchgoers distribute leftover or surplus food to the poor. Many communities have a Lanternumzug (Lantern Parade).

Although this celebration began as a rural festival to give thanks for the harvest, all Germans still give thanks and celebrate.

NETHERLANDS
Thanksgiving is observed by orthodox Protestant churches in the Netherlands on the first Wednesday in November (Dankdag [ nl]), but it is not a national or public holiday. Observers go to church in the evening.

However, the English Pilgrims weren’t the only Europeans who traveled across “the pond” for a different life in 1620. Dutch Pilgrims joined their English counterparts on the journey. The ship Speedwell left the city of Leiden in the Netherlands in 1620 and sailed to Southampton, England, where they picked up English pilgrims who traveled with them to the Americas.

Pieterskerk in Leiden, Netherlands Thanksgiving Decorations, Netherlands
Image Source: .wikipedia.org/wiki/nl:Pieterskerk Image Source: thecountriesof.com/Netherlands

In Leiden, the connection to the pilgrims is still strong and that community celebrates Thanksgiving on the same day as the United States. Leiden’s residents gather in a 900-year-old church Pieterskerk and celebrate the Speedwell’s successful voyage to the Americas.

AUSTRALIA
Because Australia is located in the Southern Hemisphere, their harvest season is different than the Northern Hemisphere. Although a hearty meal to give thanks at the end of the growing season makes sense in the north, where winter is coming, in the south it’s the beginning of summer.

Australians enjoy harvest festivals around Easter time, but they don’t relate them to Thanksgiving. They do, however, celebrate a National Day of Thanks the last Saturday in May, which is fall in the Southern Hemisphere..

At the beginning of the 21th Century, many Australians expressed their desire to have a national day each year to honor the country’s Catholic heritage, and the blessings and freedoms that Australians enjoy. In 2003, National Church leadership introduced these thoughts and dreams into the Australian church network and received unexpected support. Through many exchanges and discussions, Australia’s National Day of Thanksgiving was born and eventually set for the last Saturday of May each year.

ISRAEL
Like other agrarian-based cultures, citizens of Israel have a form of harvest festival celebrating the gift of food and life. Israel’s is called Sukkot, the Feast of the Tabernacles. As well as a time to say thanks for the harvest, Sukkot also commemorates the protection of the Jewish people by God when they left Egypt for their promised land.

The celebration begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei and lasts seven days. The date upon which if falls on the western calendar varies, sometime between the months of September and October. It comes five days after Yom Kippur ‒ the Hebrew high holiday.

During the seven days of Sukkot, all meals are eaten in open-ceiling, wooden booths called sukkahs. The outdoor structures commemorate the temporary dwellings in which the Jewish people lived while on their journey from Egypt..

Community takes part in a traditional pilgrimage
Image Source: Ibtimes.Co.In/Sukkot--Feast-Tabernacles

A sukkah Image Source: torahportions.ffoz.org/portions-library/

A sukkah - Image Source: torahportions.ffoz.org/portions-library/

A sukkah - Image Source: looking4theblessedhope.com/feast-of-tabernacles

Special prayers and psalms are read at different points during the seven-day celebration, and everyone is encouraged to spend as much time in their sukkah as possible.

Sukkot is perhaps the Thanksgiving holiday that is most heavily influenced by religion, but it is nonetheless a celebration with the same central themes of all these holidays and festivals: food, family, and thankfulness.

CHINA
China celebrates their annual Chung Chiu Moon Festival, the fall harvest festival, on the 15th day of the eighth lunar cycle of the year, the full moon closest to September 15. On this day, Chinese families come together for a three-day feast featuring a sweet delicacy called the mooncake. Image Source: chinahighlights.com/mooncake.htm

Families watch the full moon and sing and recite poetry about it. Chung Chiu is a particularly special holiday for couples, who can celebrate some romance under the full moonlight.

In the US it’s said the Chinese are the only people other than North Americans who celebrate Thanksgiving. American teachers have been teaching kids about this holiday and how America was settled by Pilgrims for several decades now, and it has caught on among younger people and Christians in China.
Image Source: en.ce.cn/Life/newsMoonFestival

Granted, it is generally thought of as a time to have a Western meal and thank friends, family, workmates, and teachers or bosses. They call it "Gan'en Jie" (感恩节, literally: 'thanks for grace holiday'). So foreigners in China might hear people say "thank you" and receive a small gift. New Chinese supermarkets in the big cities such as Shanghai and Beijing may also stock frozen turkey.

JAPAN
Japan observes a Labor Thanksgiving Day (Kinro Kansha no Hi) on November 23 every year, which is incorporated into Japan’s Happy Monday System. Not all Japanese citizens have the day off work, but all government entities are closed on this day in celebration of the country’s industrial workers and their progress.

Labor Thanksgiving Day is the modern name for Niiname-sai.

The origin of Japan’s Thanksgiving holiday actually dates back to the seventh century. The first record of the holiday is found in ancient records from 678 A.D., originally known as Niinamesai, an ancient cereals (rice, barley/wheat, foxtail millet, barnyard millet, proso millet, and beans) harvest festival. The holiday, which was then celebrated in November, “welcomed” the harvest season.

This celebration was accompanied by a harvest ritual by the Japanese emperor and the Royal Court. This ritual known as Shinjo-sai and involved the Emperor tasting the first rice of the harvest and honoring the harvest for the spirits, or kami.

Image Source: whenistheholiday.com/Thanksgiving_Japan

As Japan progressed and evolved into an industrial country rather than an agrarian one, the celebrations switched from honoring farmers to honoring workers. This modern interpretation has been in practice since 1948, following the country’s expansion of their Constitution following World War II which established new laws regarded workers’ rights and fundamental human rights.

Although widely practiced, Instead of large festivals and parades, families have modest celebrations within private residences. A number of major events held on this day, such as a labor festival in the city of Nagano, which hosted the Olympic Winter Games in February 1998. Local labor organizations sponsor this event to encourage people to think about issues affecting peace, human rights, and the environment

SOUTH KOREA
Korea’s Thanksgiving holiday Chuseok, also known as Hangawi, commemorates the first day that the full harvest moon appears, similar to other ancient harvest festivities from around the world. Families come together to welcome the harvest season and to spend some quality time with one another.

Much like American Thanksgiving, there are specific foods associated with Chuseok. One of the most important foods is a rice cake known as songpyeon. The rice cake’s dough is made using finely ground, new rice, and filled with sesame seeds, chestnuts, red beans, or other delights. It’s then molded into a small ball.

Image Source: financialexpress.com/south-korea--chuseok Image Source: koreaonlinevisa.com/news/

Families come together on the night before Chuseok to make songpyeon as a bonding activity, illustrating the importance of family in Korean culture.

Korea’s Thanksgiving holiday also calls for gift-giving between both family and friends. Typical presents range from high-quality steaks and fresh fruit, to gift baskets filled with necessities for the year. Spam is actually one of the most common gifts since it’s incredibly popular in Korea.

LIBERIAl
Thanksgiving in Liberia is celebrated on the first Thursday of November each year. It is almost identical to the United States’ version of Thanksgiving, aside from the day it’s celebrated.

Liberia, West Africa, was founded by freed American and Caribbean slaves in 1822. It was established for those free slaves who wanted more freedom and equality than the United States could offer. The country’s capital, Monrovia, is named after President James Monroe, who supported the creation of Liberia. The free slaves who choose to relocate to Liberia brought a lot of American traditions with them, and one of those traditions was the Thanksgiving holiday.

Image Source: pinterest.com/pin/527202700100336316/ Image Source: marketwatch.com/story/thanksgiving

Of course, Liberians put their own spin on the American traditions. Families get together and eat dinner consisting of chicken, green bean casserole, and mashed cassavas, which are a vegetable similar to potatoes. But Liberians like their food to be spicy, so different seasonings are added to give their dishes a kick.

UNITED KINGDOM
It may be surprising to some that Thanksgiving is celebrated also in the United Kingdom, seeing as the U.S. and the U.K. have had a pretty turbulent past at times. But long before there were Brits or Americans, the people of what is now the United Kingdom celebrated harvest festivals just like much of the world. So it isn’t as much of a leap as it might appear on the surface.

“It {Thanksgiving] began in churches in the year 1843, when Robert Hawker invited local parishioners to a special thanksgiving service at a church in Cornwall. This resulted in the custom of decorating churches with home-grown products. In the old times, the success of crops determined the success or failure of the people. The natives of UK, pleased the god of fertility by offering him the first sheaf of corn. This was done to ensure a good harvest in the coming season.” thanksgiving-day.org/celebration-united-kingdom.html Prior to that time the Druids and Celts celebrated fall harvest festivals at well.

The holiday is unofficially dubbed “Brits-giving” in the UK and is celebrated by those who honor it on the 4th Thursday of November as it is in the US.

BARBADOS
Like many other countries, Barbados’ answer to Thanksgiving comes in the form of a harvest festival called the Crop Over Festival. This is a 300-year-old tradition with origins from the sugarcane plantations on the Caribbean island. Slaves who worked in those plantations began celebrating the end of the sugarcane harvest season, which signaled the end of their strenuous plantation labor. The event included singing, dancing, and feasting. Drinking competitions were also a part of the celebration, as well as the tradition to climb a greased-up pole.

Begun in the 17th century, Crop Over was suspended for a period of time in 1943 when Barbados suffered from economic struggles due to World War II and didn’t have the funding to continue. It was brought back to life 30 years later by the Barbados Tourist Board and a group of passionate Barbadians..

Image Credit: Eye Ubiquitous/UIG via Getty Images Image source: barbadostoday.bb/BarbadosCropOver
Image Source: allthatsinteresting.com/thanksgiving-Barbados

Now the festival is now renowned worldwide and lasts anywhere from six weeks to three months, and apparently has little to do with giving thanks, at least in the sense that most Americans celebrate.

INDIA
Thanksgiving in India is usually found to be observed by the Christian populations. It is not a nationally recognized holiday and is known by different names in different parts of the country as a means to give thanks for bountiful harvest and flourishing of wealth.

As a multi-lingual, multi-cultural and secular country, the population participates in a number of harvest festivals in various regions, and the day is known for its Unity in Diversity. Harvest festivals are not national holidays in India but may be declared as State holidays by their respective regions. The purpose is to thank their deity’s.

In southern India the end of the harvest is observed as Pongal. On this day, farmers bring the newly harvested rice and prepare sweet dishes. The people believe that by thanking their deity, they will remain happy and prosperous throughout the year.
Image Source: goabroad.com/articles/Thanksgiving-India

On this day, homes are neatly decorated and new clothing is adorned for the occasion. Prayers are offered, a variety of sweets are cooked and distributed to the neighbors and friends.

The festival is common to several parts of India but they are known by different names in various parts of the nation and occur on different days. Therefore the holiday is celebrated with diverse culture and rituals.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL
These are only some of the countries who celebrate what could be called a formal Thanksgiving, but enough to give you a good idea of how widespread this is. It is all about thinking of the things you are grateful for and giving thanks for those things, and doing it with family. Some of the others include (but are not limited to):

Brazil Ghana Greneda Norfolk Island Puerto Rico Vietnam

Malaysia

And as Snoppy asks, "Why can't we be grateful all year?"
JUST SAYIN
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Sources
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/9-other-countries-celebrate-thanksgiving-110021067.html
https://allthatsinteresting.com/thanksgiving-in-other-countries
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/thanksgiving-around-the-world/
https://www.history.com/news/8-thanksgiving-celebrations-around-the-world
https://www.theifod.com/ten-other-countries-that-celebrate-thanksgiving
https://www.chinahighlights.com/festivals/thanksgiving-day.htm
https://tshirtatlowprice.com/thanksgiving-day-in-australia/
https://culturacolectiva.com/travel/thanksgiving-around-the-world-celebrations-traditions
https://www.thedailymeal.com/thanksgiving-family-traditions-across-america-slideshow-photos
https://whereintheworldislianna.com/miscellaneous/thanksgiving-traditions/
https://www.ibtimes.co.in/sukkot-2016-how-jewish-celebrate-feast-tabernacles-check-out-photos-700185
https://germangirlinamerica.com/what-is-erntedankfest/
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/when-is-thanksgiving-canada-2019-190659375.html
http://whenistheholiday.com/hc-5645-Labor_Thanksgiving_Day_in_Japan_in_2015
https://www.thedailymeal.com/thanksgiving-liberia
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/thanksgiving-in-8-other-countries-2015-11-25
http://www.thanksgiving-day.org/celebration-united-kingdom.html
https://www.goabroad.com/articles/gobble-up-these-7-thanksgiving-traditions-around-the-world
https://www.historicmysteries.com/lughnasadh-celtic-harvest-festival/
http://jschwind.blogspot.com/2010/11/thanksgiving-in-australia.html
https://torahportions.ffoz.org/portions-library/weekly-torah/raised-up-and-rebuilt.html
https://barbadostoday.bb/2021/08/06/bteditorial-crop-over-2022-in-some-form-or-fashion/
https://torahportions.ffoz.org/portions-library/weekly-torah/raised-up-and-rebuilt.html
https://looking4theblessedhope.com/2018/09/27/fulfillment-of-the-feast-of-tabernacles-and-our-eternal-choice/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving#:~:text=Thanksgiving%20is%20observed%20by%20orthodox%20Protestant%20churches%20in,church%20in%20the%20morning%20%28and%20occasionally%20afternoon%29%20too.

https://caribbeantrading.com/thanksgiving-traditions-in-puerto-rico/#:~:text=The%20locals%20have%20embraced%20the%20holiday%20eagerly%20and,So%20what%E2%80%99s%20different%20about%20a%20Puerto%20Rican%20Thanksgiving%3F

https://blog.japanesecartrade.com/1072-labour-thanksgiving-day-japan/#:~:text=Labor%20Thanksgiving%20Day%20in%20Japan%20celebrated%20as%20an,ancient%20festival%E2%80%99s%20origination%20dates%20back%20hundreds%20of%20years.

https://www.financialexpress.com/world-news/south-korea-extends-annual-chuseok-holiday-to-boost-domestic-spending/860442/

http://www.fundootimes.com/festivals/india-thanksgiving-day.html#:~:text=Thanksgiving%20Day%20in%20India%20is%20known%20with%20different,end%20of%20the%20harvest%20is%20observed%20as%20Pongal.

https://blog.japanesecartrade.com/1072-labour-thanksgiving-day-japan/#:~:text=Labor%20Thanksgiving%20Day%20in%20Japan%20celebrated%20as%20an,ancient%20festival%E2%80%99s%20origination%20dates%20back%20hundreds%20of%20years.

https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/nation/2019/11/26/native-americans-dominated-first-thanksgiving-feast-plymouth/4248526002/
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THE TYRANNY OF DEMOCRACY: "Democracy Is Two Wolves And A Lamb Voting On What To Have For Lunch"

11/12/2021

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A NATION DIVIDED
Washington, we have a problem!

Public opinion has become so heated over recent issues, that many Americans have been making angry statements – and making fools of themselves – over individual rights, what government can or can’t do, and basically speaking without remembering the meanings of terms they should have learned in school.

Americans are already so polarized about important issues that it doesn’t help – and is a waste of time – arguing over minutia. What is the matter with us?

A FRAME OF REFERENCE
Truth and fact exist based on the best information science and technology can determine at the moment and on the acceptance of those truths and facts by the vast majority of scientists, researchers, historians, scholars, and others intimately familiar with the subject. Some facts may never change, such as the number of bones in a human body which probably hasn’t changed for thousands of years now, but many others, over time, may be altered by new information and evolution itself.

In 500 BC the Greeks believed the earth was a sphere, then later between about 500 to 1100 AD, give or take a few years, it was a fact that the world was flat. Alas, the real fact is, in 2021 we know the earth is neither flat nor is it completely spherical.*

This is the Frame of Reference for discussing Democracy v Republic in terms of form of government.

G. Washington A. Hamilton B. Franklin J. Adams S. Adams T. Jefferson J. Jay J. Madison

OUR FOUNDING FATHERS
Within our frame of reference, it is clear the founding fathers favored a republic rather than a democracy as those terms were then defined. They wanted a government for the people and by the people, and championed seating power in the people of the nation. They also feared what they called the "tyranny of the majority", where the minorities have no protection of their rights.

Their solution was the creation of a republic where the people elect representatives to conduct the business of government, but with a Constitution that addresses this concern spelling out the rights of individuals, is intended to prevent the majoritarian rule of a simple democracy.

When the delegates of the United States Constitutional Convention debated the question in 1787, the exact meanings of the terms republic and democracy remained unsettled. At the time, there was no term for a representative form of government created “by the people” rather than by a king.

However, these guys were pretty smart!

They conceived a new form of government with "liberty and justice for all" based on the concept of the power resting with the citizens. These citizens elect representatives to make the laws which must be consistent with a Constitution that spells out the rights of all the citizens. There were plenty of disagreements and other major issues – such as a strong federal government v power being vested in the states – which are related to but not part of the democracy v republic question.

Our Constitution was designed to “promote the general Welfare and secure the Blessings of Liberty.” With these rights and blessings come responsibilities that citizens need to assume in order to fulfill the promise of the new nation. These lofty goals and principles never had a singular interpretation and over time have led to differing ideas and heated debates, but none of them negate the responsibilities of the citizens, which many fail to mention when talking about their rights.

George Washington presiding at the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787
Original painting by Junius Brutus Stearns - Photographer: Granger
Source of Image with caption: pagetwo.completecolorado.com/

Keep in mind that the Roman Republic conquered much of Europe and East Asia, and with the Romans came their traditions and ideas, including that of republics. The founding fathers had examples of different forms of republics in Europe to learn from.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DEMOCRACY AND A REPUBLIC
Democracy and Republic are often taken as one in the same, but there is a fundamental difference.

First, there are different kinds of democracies and republics, and they can ‒ can be and are ‒ mixed and matched into hybrid forms of governance. Second, both in republics and democracies, citizens can be empowered to participate by electing representatives to the governing bodies. These representatives are sworn to protect the interests of their electorate.

Democracies
A pure democracy – called a simple or Athenian Democracy -- requires the people be allowed to take part in the government and its political processes. In a pure democracy, all citizens who are eligible to vote take an equal part in the process of making laws that govern them.

In other words, all citizens vote on all laws and measures, and the majority rules.

Because of the size of the territory included in the newborn country, from the beginning the Founding Fathers realized they needed a representative form of governance where citizens vote directly for representative who then convene to vote on the laws.

Even with a democracy with a representative system, the essence of the system is “The majority rules”. The attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate. whether it be based upon deliberation or governed by passion, prejudice, and impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences. Therefore, in a democracy minority rights are overridden by the majority, and the laws enacted by the majority apply to all citizens of the country.

This is probably the most significant difference between the two forms of governance, because it leaves those in the minority with no protections of their personal or property rights.

Republics
The basic concept of a republic is a form of governance wherein the power rests in the hands of the citizens who elect representatives to make the laws and an executive to enforce those laws. Election of those representatives is through a voting process open to all citizens eligible to vote. Government leaders exercise their powers as per the rule of law, not rule of the majority as in a simple democracy.

A constitution, which is the law, limits the power of Government and ensures some rights and protections which cannot be overridden even by the majority. According to the constitution those individual and property rights are guaranteed and the government is prohibited from limiting or taking away certain “inalienable” rights of the people, even if that government was freely chosen by a majority of the people.

In a pure democracy, the voting majority has almost limitless power over the minority. Inherent in this is the expectation that to enjoy the guaranteed rights the citizens will accept the obligation and responsibility to participate in the voting process and to obey the laws.

The following chart, put together from two sources, compares a pure democracy and a republic and lays out the major differences.

WHAT IS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?
After all this time, there is still no “official” designation for the type of governance we enjoy in the United States. Like most modern nations, is neither a pure republic nor a pure democracy. Instead, it is a hybrid democratic republic.

Alexander Hamilton called it a “representative democracy.” Others called it a “representative democratic republic”. It definitely combines several forms of government.

Just remember, you “pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands."

Because our country is a “representative democratic republic” which honors freedom and liberty and has guaranteed your right to speak out, it’s okay to have issues with the government, and it’s okay to disagree with something you don’t believe in… but please, do so from an informed position. And remember the responsibilities of the citizen in all this.

Try reading the Constitution, or a minimum the Bill of Rights, before you write that nasty little comment on FaceBook or Twitter.

And by the way, that popular quote, “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote”, often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, as well as other founding fathers, it was never said by any of them.

The saying means that in a pure democracy, the majority would literally eat the minority for lunch or dinner. The closest Franklin comes to expressing this sentiment is where he writes in a 1773 letter, “There is Truth in the Old Saying, That if you make yourself a Sheep, the Wolves will eat you.”

The first documented printing of the statement that has been found is the journal “Nomoss: Studies in Spontaneous Order" in 1987. Authorship is unknown. For your amusement, here are a few other definitions by Bill K. published on groups.google.com/g/misc.activism.militia/:

“A Democracy: Three wolves and a sheep voting on dinner.”
“A Republic: The flock gets to vote for which wolves vote on dinner.”
“A Constitutional Republic: Voting on dinner is expressly forbidden, and the sheep are armed.”
“Federal Government: The means by which the sheep will be fooled into voting for a Democracy…”
“Democrats and Republicans: sheep who think they are wolves.”

JUST SAYIN
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THE BILL OF RIGHTS FROM THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

Article VII
The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.

First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Second Amendment
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Third Amendment
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Fourth Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Fifth Amendment
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Sixth Amendment
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

Seventh Amendment
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Eighth Amendment
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Ninth Amendment
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

10th Amendment
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
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Notes
Note 1: Thirty-three amendments to the United States Constitution have been proposed by the United States Congress and sent to the states for ratification since the Constitution was put into operation on March 4, 1789. Twenty-seven of these, have been ratified.

Note 2:: The earth is not a perfect oblate spheroid, because mass is distributed unevenly within the planet. There is more mass in the southern hemisphere. The greater the concentration of mass is, the stronger its gravitational pull, creating bumps around the globe. Moreover, to even out Earth's imbalanced distribution of mass and stabilize its spin, the entire surface of the Earth will rotate and try to redistribute mass along the equator, a process called true polar wander.

Sources
https://www.theunion.com/news/twi/our-founding-fathers-wanted-a-republic-not-a-democracy/
https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/article/us-democratic-constitutional-republic-and-yes-it-matters/
https://www.thoughtco.com/republic-vs-democracy-4169936
https://joedoakesplace.blogspot.com/2015/04/democracy-versus-republic.html
https://juscafe.com/encyclopedia/the-bill-of-rights-1791-the-usa/
https://checkyourfact.com/2019/05/29/fact-check-democracy-jefferson-adams-franklin-hamilton/
https://ammo.com/articles/founding-fathers-quotes-democracy-government-power-in-people
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h375.html
https://americanhistory.si.edu/democracy-exhibition/creating-citizens/what-are-rights-and-responsibilities-citizens
https://pagetwo.completecolorado.com/2020/12/23/caldara-dont-forfeit-freedoms-to-fear/

https://www.history.com/news/biracial-royalty-meghan-markle-queen-charlotte#:~:text=Black%20royalty%20has%20always%20existed%2C%20and%20modern%20monarchies,have%20complicated%20contemporary%20de

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_republic#:~:text=Republic%3A%20%22A%20state%20in%20which%20supreme%20power%20is,members%20of%20a%20state%2C%20typically%20through%20elected%20representatives.%22
https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/democracy_is_two_wolves/#:~:text=%22Democracy%20is%20two%20wolves%20and%20a%20lamb%2Fsheep%20voting,majority%20would%20literally%20eat%20the%20minority%20for%20lunch%2Fdinner.

https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-democracy-and-republic.html#:~:text=The%20major%20differences%20between%20democracy%20and%20republic%20are,rule%20of%20the%20people%E2%80%99.%20...%20More%20items...%20

https://www.ourdocuments.gov/print_friendly.php?flash=false&page=transcript&doc=13&title=Transcript+of+Bill+of+Rights+(1791)

https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/difference-between-democracy-and-republic/#:~:text=Difference%20between%20Democracy%20and%20Republic%20%20%20Democracy,made%20by%20...%20%204%20more%20rows%20

https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/full-text#:~:text=Full%20%EE%80%80Text%EE%80%81%20The%20%EE%80%80U.S%EE%80%81.%20%EE%80%80Constitution%EE%80%81.%20We%20the%20People,and%20establish%20this%20%EE%80%80Constitution%EE%80%81%20for%20the

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REMEMBER THE BEES! Writing characters of other ethnic and cultural backgrounds

11/5/2021

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I HAVE A PROBLEM
The main character in my contemporary series is a tour guide who travels to many countries and has people from everywhere in her tour groups. Hence, I must create characters from ethnic groups and cultures that I am not part of. These characters must be believable and real, and I want to do this without unintentionally writing something that is offensive to members of other cultures I’m writing about and piss them off.

That dilemma prompted this blog about how to write characters from other ethnic groups and cultures.

Personally, I start from the point of view that God created us all equal. Humans have two legs and two arms with one head and a brain that is capable of unbelievable things. Our bodies and internal organs are the same no matter where we are from. Our basic human needs and fears are the same.

It is what happens at birth and afterward that creates the differences in people. The experience of living and surviving is unique to every person.

You can’t live in anyone else’s skin or know exactly their thoughts and feelings, but the closer your experiences are to those of the other person, the easier it is to empathize and to come closer to real understanding.

“I suspect most people feel more or less the same when being chased by bees.”
Max Gladstone in intellectusspecul-max-gladstone-on-bees

SHOULD WHITE AUTHORS WRITE ABOUT CHARACTERS OF OTHER ETHNIC AND CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS?
The consensus seems to be that they should. After all, we live in a diverse world. In most contemporary settings – even in most historical novels – an all-white cast of characters would be odd, as it hardly reflects reality. So yes, a white author can write a diverse cast… and will learn something in the process.

In both contemporary and historical novels, if a writer is being realistic, it’s hard to find a time and place without at least some representation from people of other races or cultures who could show up at least as secondary characters, if not primary, depending on the type of novel, location, and time.

The second part of this answer, however, is that the writers must do their homework. Research! Research! Research! Then be respectful and understand which lines not to cross.

Mya Nunnally [bookriot.com/casually-racist-things-that-white-authors-do/] writes:
“It’s hard to explain the importance of representation to someone who doesn’t understand. But it’s like not having a good parent to look up to. You don’t have a positive image of what you can be. When you’re a young child of color and all around you are stories and movies and television about white children, you internalize the idea that hey—maybe my story isn’t as important as theirs.”

TAKING ON THE TASK
The following applies to major and secondary characters who have an impact on the story, not to pass-through characters. Minor characters who come and go through out the novel need some description including ethnicity and/or culture.

● Ask The Big Questions
What is my purpose in writing this? Who do I expect to be my audience? These are questions the author should ask himself regardless of what kind of novel he is writing.

Whatever you are writing and particularly if your target audience is primarily white, this is an opportunity to add diversity to your books in ways that help other white people understand and embrace the similarities we all share as human beings. Remember the bees.

Are you willing to do the work? If you are writing a 500 page historical family saga, you are in for a lot of research. Be sure you know what kind of novel you intend to write and your purpose in writing it.

● Research!
Massive research! Start by clearing your mind of everything you think you know about that ethnicity and culture. Be cautious of allowing friendships within the specific ethnic/ cultural group. Even a multitude of friends can’t represent everything about the entire history or culture. Look at your own ethnicity/ culture and think about how many differences there are between you other people you know in the same group.

Just don’t try to cram everything you’ve learned into the actual novel. Only use the parts that are pertinent to the story.

● Read
Read literature written by and for the group you want to depict. Also read or view anything you can which expresses the group members unhappiness with the way they are portrayed in the media and thought of by the general public. Read examples of white writers who handle ethnicity well, and maybe one who doesn’t.

Kelly Nichols and Kris Montee – two sisters who write as P.J.Parish – are a good example. They are so successful at writing their Louis Kincaid series, the the editor who bought the first book thought it had been written by a black man.

Just don't try to put everything you've learned into the actual story.

● Persist
Hang in there, even when your feelings are hurt, you are overwhelmed with “white guilt”, or become defensive. Kayla Ancrum says [mediadiversified.org/how-to-write-women/men-of-colour ], “This blinding rage some POC [People of Color] have for white people is not born of bigoted prejudice, but rather from old hurt. Or fear. Or pain.”

You must must must disassociate your personal feelings about the issues and just sit quietly and listen and not get emotional. The purpose is educate yourself about the issues that this group – and the character you want to write about – has strong feelings about and discuss in their everyday life.

● Be Awareness of Ethnicity
Do not have your white characters pretend People of Color are not POC. White people and POC see the difference in each other. That isn’t to say they can’t interact, be friends, treat the each other with respect, etc., but they are aware of the difference.

Mixed race people are often very cognizant of their racial perception and where and how they fit in. When you write such a character, they should have that awareness. Readers should identify with your character’s human characteristics over everything else.

● Turn About Is Fair Play
Right now, most of the articles available on this subject are about white writers trying to create characters of color or different cultural backgrounds. That’s to be expected since the majority of the authors are white. White people, however, are not homogeneous and do not come from the same cultural backgrounds.

When anyone, white or a person of color, writes a character, just as much research about era, location and cultural background is necessary for the time and place. Most likely, the person of color or other culture doesn’t know about a white person’s ethnicity and culture, nor understand their attitudes, values, and mindset. It should be a learning experience for a POC author.

● Use a Beta Reader
Have one or more Beta readers from your character’s ethnic or cultural group to assess your work and keep you on the right track.

BE AWARE OF THE PITFALLS
My opinion is that the major pitfalls can be avoided if the writer has done the research I keep harping about and is aware of being respectful and sensitive. The following pitfalls are very important to POC readers.

● White by Default
White by default is a sticky wicket and is as much a writing issue as a sensitivity issue. In many novels, when characters are introduced, only those persons of color are called out. That leaves the reader with the idea that everyone else is white if not identified as something else. This doesn’t bother most white writers, but it does bother the readers who are not white. It may cause younger readers to ask, “Aren’t there other people like me out there?”

The rule of thumb is that pass-through characters who never show up again in the novel [the waiter, the maid, the bank teller] and have no impact, are not described at all or with only one descriptor.

Writing primary and secondary characters require the heavy-duty research and Beta reader. Minor characters who show up now and then, or who are there but have little or no role in the outcome are usually described often by actions as well as unique things about their looks [e.g. a big hook nose.].

All characters need to be introduced by showing, not a feature-by-feature description, which will probably solve the introducing only white or only POC characters. Physical character description should be more than skin tone. Show the reader hair, eyes, noses, mouth, hands. Body posture, body shape, skin texture… though not necessarily all of those nor at once.

● Stereotypes
Stereotypes are a no-no in every type of writing. It’s lazy writing; a shorthand used to make quick descriptions of minor characters. When a writer does this, it’s easy to fall back on stereotypes.

All your characters should possess a fully well-rounded personality. After all, not all Japanese are good at math or a master at martial arts. Stereotypes are particularly noticeable in clothes and hairstyles, sometimes in professions.

● Describing People Of Color Using Food
If I learned one thing, it is that People of Color do not like having their skin colors described as a food color. Mya Nunnally [bookriot.com/casually-racist-things-that-white-authors-do/] explains that first, this kind of description is usually applied to people of color.

Second, “people of color have had a history of being used for slave labor involving food, especially coffee, chocolate, and so on. The words you use have a historical context. Be aware of them.”Don’t despair if one of your latino characters has “skin the color of caramel.” There are plenty of other ways to describe skin tone, including flowers and earthtones. Here are some listed in writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/words-for-skin-tone.
Basic Colors ▼ Expanded Basic Colors ▼

Minerals & Gemstones ▲ Flowers ▼ Metals ▲ Woods ▼

https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/96830966357/words-for-skin-tone-how-to-describe-skin-color

● Writing Dialogue in Black Dialect
Black English is a dialect of English, not standard English using bad grammar or slang. The dialect is African-American Vernacular (AAVE), and should be researched the same as any unfamiliar dialect. The name for the dialect was suggested in 1975 by a Black scholar. Even though it was never formally adopted by linguists, the dialect has its own rules and structure. Don’t wing it!

Scholars still argue about what AAVE should be called, leaning one way or another at different times. This probably why our white population isn’t familiar with either the name or the concept of it being a dialect. At this point in time, this is the name to use when researching.

● The Faithful Sidekick
Ever since – and maybe before -- Author Fran Striker wrote the “Lone Ranger” series of books, first released in 1936, the only person of color [if there was one in the story] was the hero’s sidekick or maybe the villain. Those works in themselves were surprising for the time to have one lone POC character.

Be cautious when you use a POC as a sidekick. At least make the character a full blown person with the appropriate feelings and mindset for the time and place, and give him or her a significant role.

● The White Savior
Another pitfall is the novel with the white person who “saves the natives”, presumably because they can’t do it themselves.

The movie “Avatar” is a good example. After it opened with great box office success, a deluge of blogposts, tweets and articles claimed the movie was "a fantasy about race told from the point of view of white people" and that it reinforces "the white Messiah fable." The lead actress, Robinne Lee, who is black with Jamaican and Chinese ancestry, said, “It's really upsetting in many ways. It would be nice if we could save ourselves." cbsnews.com/racist-theme-in-avatar/

TAKE AWAYSThere is a lot more to be discussed about diversity in writing novels... just look at the number of sources listed. Across the board, we all need to respect the rights and dignity of others and to be aware of and sensitive to those things that hurt or denigrate others.

The more the topic is addresses in the writing community, the better we will get at mutually dismantling inequality. Writing a POC character in a book ;with sensitivity and understanding may seem a small step, but every step in the right direction counts.

JUST SAYIN
■
Sources:
https://medium.com/thrive-global/24-things-that-only-writers-know-from-writers-464c0a625bb7
https://nelsonagency.com/2017/01/can-white-authors-write-characters-of-color/
https://midnightbreakfast.com/writing-people-of-color
https://www.springhole.net/writing/offensivemistakes.htm
https://writingtheother.com/writing-characters-of-different-races/
https://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2016/06/20/how-to-write-protagonists-of-colour-when-youre-white/
https://writersrelief.com/2018/02/15/characters-different-ethnicities-writers-relief/
https://midnightbreakfast.com/writing-people-of-color
https://indefeasible.wordpress.com/2008/03/23/writing-about-characters-of-a-different-race/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Understanding
https://clairelight.typepad.com/seelight/2006/09/almond_eyes.html
https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/96830966357/writing-with-color-description-guide-words-for
https://cypheroftyr.com/2016/05/20/so-you-want-to-describe-a-poc-character/
https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/95955707903/skin-writing-with-color-has-received-several
https://www.nap.edu/read/1785/chapter/8
http://authorelizaandrews.com/on-writing-about-race-when-youre-white/
https://nelsonagency.com/2017/01/can-white-authors-write-characters-of-color/
https://intellectusspeculativus.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/guest-post-max-gladstone-on-bees-and-diversity/
https://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2016/06/20/how-to-write-protagonists-of-colour-when-youre-white/
https://writingtheother.com/writing-characters-of-different-races/
https:/www.writersdigest.com/wd-books/characters-and-viewpoint-excerpt
http://www.countriesandcultures.com/spanish-stereotypes-of-americans/
https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/discussion/why-do-we-read-and-write-novels
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02167900
https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-practical-differences-between-intellectual-and-emotional-empathy
http://www.journal.kfionline.org/issue-6/this-matter-of-intellectual-understanding
https://intellectusspeculativus.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/guest-post-max-gladstone-on-bees-and-diversity/
https://bookriot.com/casually-racist-things-that-white-authors-do/
https://bookriot.com/white-as-the-default/
http://udel.edu/~dlarsen/ling101/slides/AAE.pdf
https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/96830966357/words-for-skin-tone-how-to-describe-skin-color
https://www.dictionary.com/e/united-states-diversity-african-american-vernacular-english-aave/
https://cynthialeitichsmith.com/2014/02/writing-tonto-wise-cracking-minority/
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MightyWhitey
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/racist-theme-in-avatar/
https://mediadiversified.org/2013/12/19/how-to-write-women-of-colour-and-men-of-colour-if-you-are-white/
https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-practical-differences-between-intellectual-and-emotional-empathy

Paper by Rebecca S. Wheeler at the Workshop of Language, Westport, Connecticut 1999
Title: African American English is not Standard English with Mistakes.

https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/10/16/the-effects-of-seeing-asian-americans-as-a-model-minority/model-minority-seems-like-a-compliment-but-it-does-great-harm

http://www.criminalelement.com/writing-where-your-protagonist-is-a-different-culture-or-race-john-keyse-walker-sun-sand-murder-comment-sweepstakes/

https://wendyallott.com/2018/02/07/what-should-you-consider-when-writing-characters-who-are-have-a-different-race-religion-gender-or-sexual-preference-to-you/

https://intellectusspeculativus.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/guest-post-max-gladstone-on-bees-and-diversity/https://intellectusspeculativus.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/guest-post-max-gladstone-on-bees-and-diversity/

https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/10/16/the-effects-of-seeing-asian-americans-as-a-model-minority/model-minority-seems-like-a-compliment-but-it-does-great-harm

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November 05th, 2021 -Alert! I tried to post my blog today and someone ate it. Give me a while to get it back up. Sorry

11/5/2021

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Free Short story: HALLOWEEN IN THE CATACOMBS - Part 2

10/29/2021

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Part 2
Chapter Four

“We cannot go as yet,” the Nose proclaimed, apparently on behalf of the whole group, since they all nodded in agreement.

Bria put a hand on my arm. “I’m shorry m’dear,” she slurred, “but I have to shit down.”

Woo! Alcohol fumes. I waved my hand in front of my nose to clear the air. “All right. But just for a minute.” I pointed to a low stone bench against one wall. The rules forbade sitting on the artifacts, but who would know? The pile of violations already reached the ceiling.
She grunted, but instead of sitting on the bench, she motioned to the other three women and proceeded to plop down in the center of the circle.

Tacita, in her Roman toga, who had not said one word the whole day but had consumed at least twelve bottles of water, followed the old woman. Open-mouthed, I watched her settle into place, flipping her thick blond braid to one side, and thought how much her scowl spoiled the beauty of her narrow face.

Rosy-cheeked Lara and apple-blossom Mona joined the other two. The men, including Calogerus, remained with their backs against the walls, almost as though standing guard.
Then The Nose pulled away and approached me.

“They need a fifth in the circle.” He pointed to where the women sat.

“Who says we need a fifth?” Bria demanded, shooting a glare at him that should have peeled off his skin. Maybe that was what had happened to L’Amour.

“I do.” Naso tapped his chest with his pencil. “I’m the one who wrote the ritual down in the first place.”

“Ritual?” Of its own volition, my voice took on a slightly hysterical edge. Well, maybe I helped a little, but this smacked of more than wandering off and getting lost. “What ritual?”

Bria pushed aside her tote bag and tried to stand. “It’seeh my respon-za-bility, P. O.” She must have had more alcohol stashed in her bag, because her blitzo condition had worsened.

I. J. Fetrius jumped into the fray, coming between Naso and the circle in the dirt. “Stay back. You cannot cross.” He glanced around at the others, shot his cuffs, and adjusted his tie. “You’re all a flock of helpless sheep without my guidance. You are pathetic. You, Miss Ruby, get in there, and let’s get this over with.”

His command seeped through my state of shock.

Moi? “Get what over with?”

“Just do it!”

I gave that at least twenty seconds of consideration. I couldn’t fight them physically, and I didn’t want them running around getting lost again. At least they were all together this way, and none of them seemed inclined to split. And Will should arrive any minute. Cooperating would buy the time he needed to get down here with the security guards.

“All right,” I agreed with a reluctant nod. “As long as it doesn’t take too long.” I stepped inside the circle and sat in the space left for me between Lara and Mona, while Bria dragged her satchel to her and began rummaging around inside.

“Here we go.” She pulled out three sticks of incense, holding them between three fingers, and handed them to Lara. “You hold these. Three fingers only.”

Then she reached again into the tote and pulled out something small and fury. Grasping it by its long tail, she handed it to Tacita. “Bury it.”

Tacita wrinkled her nose with distaste, but began clawing at the earth between stones with her fingernails, trying to dig a hole.

"Eew!” Mona held her nose. “How long have you had this thing in there?”

“Cut the drama-goddess routine,” Bria scolded. “It’s fresh. I trapped it in the hotel this morning at the breakfast buffet.”

“Fresh or not, it stinks,” Lara complained. “I don’t remember anything about using a dead mouse.”

“Is that really a mouse?” I demanded, as though I couldn’t see. If it looks like a dead mouse, and smells like a dead mouse, it’s a dead mouse.

The old woman tapped Tacita’s knuckles with the spoon. “Here stupid, use this. Did you think I didn’t bring something to dig with?” Then she turned to Mona. “You build the fire.” She handed some twigs and matches to the redhead.

“A fire!” I screeched. Things were definitely getting out of hand. Will and security could not arrive a moment too soon. “Wait. You’re defacing a national monument. This is an historic site.”

“Just hold on a second, young lady. I can’t talk now. I have to roll these around in my mouth.” Bria opened a Zip Lock baggie, shook seven black beans into her hand, then popped them into her mouth. After shoving them to the side of her cheek with her tongue like a chipmunk, she shouted, “Who’s got the fish?”

Immediately, Calogerus stood by the circle holding out a plastic bag filled with water and a goldfish swimming around inside. Where did that come from? Walmart? Then I remembered the cargo pockets.

Well, why not? That made about as much sense as the rest of it.

“I’ve got it,” the boy announced.

Bria’s face reddened. “You nit.” she shouted around the beans in her mouth. “You were supposed to bring a dead one.”

The boy shrugged, popped open the bag and dumped the contents on the ground. The earthen floor sucked up the water, leaving the fish flopping about, fighting for oxygen. After a few seconds of heavy panting, it stopped wiggling.

“It’s dead now.” He picked it up by the tail and tossed it across the circle to Tacita, careful not to put his hand inside.

“Holy mackerel,” I cried, rising half off the floor.

“I don’t think it’s a mackerel,” Lara said, pulling me down.

Without a word, Tacita moved her hands over the goldfish, then passed it to Bria who smeared something black over its head.

“Tacita rules over the dead,” Mona whispered to me. “She’s mute, you know.”

“No shit.” My eyes widened as I spoke. When I ceased controlling my language, I had definitely lost it. Forcing my eyes closed, I prayed that when I opened them I would be at home in bed waking up from a bad dream.

“Here, take it.” My eyes popped open. No such luck. No bed. Just the bottom of a catacomb and ten loonies in Halloween costumes. Bria held the fish out to me.

Screwing up my face, I took the tail between two fingers and held it away from me. Where the hell is the cavalry? Desperation clawed at me. “So, what do I do with it?”

In response, Bria reached up to her grey hair, pulled back into a tight bun, and drew out a long bronze needle. In her coiffure, it had looked decorative, but when she handed it to me, I realized how sharp it was. “Skewer the fish and roast it over Mona’s fire.”

Oh, man. My job didn’t pay me enough for this kind of stuff. It was an effort just to keep my eyeball in my head. “Then what happens?”

“Be quiet and do it,” Fetrius boomed behind me. “I’ve got other places I have to be tonight. Let’s get this over with. I don’t know why I have to be here, anyway.”

Tacita glared at him, teeth bared, and made a hissing sound.

Lara's face screwed into an ugly stare which she directed at Fetrius. “Because it was all your fault,” she yelled at him. “If you hadn’t ripped out Mom’s tongue‒”

“You and Lars wouldn’t be around,” he snapped, cutting of her bitter words. “You should be grateful.”

“Can I stab the fish?” Calogerus interrupted, still standing beside the circle.

I gaped at him in horror. I have to humor them and play along. Otherwise, we might never get out of here. This was just too weird.

“No. I’ll do it.” I girded my loins, so to speak, clamped my teeth together, then ran the needle through the fish. Holding out my arm, I held the poor demised critter over the small fire.

Suddenly, Bria screeched at full volume, “I have gagged the spiteful tongues!”

Jumping a good foot off the ground, I cried, “Holy mackerel!”

Lara leaned into me. “I told you, it’s not a mackerel. It’s a goldfish.”

My eyes blinked. “Right. Whatever.” By now, a migraine brewed at the base of my skull. My stomach ached as though I’d been eating lead-based paint.

“I have muzzled unfriendly mouths!” Bria shouted again.

My hand jerked at the second outburst, and I burned my finger. “Ouch!” I dropped the fish into the fire. “Oh, darn. Is that going to screw things up?”

Lara patted my hand. “No problem. That part’s done.”

“There’s more?”

“I’m done. I’m out of here.” Fetrius announced impatiently.

“No, you have to wait,” I yelled. Was I getting into this, or what? “We all have to go together.”

“She’s right,” Bria agreed, heaving herself to her feet. “My part is finished, too, but since we have to wait, I.J., you can take charge of the Lemuria, too.”

“I shall not.”

“Stick out your hand.” Bria approached him and glared up his tall form.

“No!” But he extended his hand, palm up.

Bria spit the black beans into it and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Your turn.”

Fetrius stared at the beans. “There are only seven. I’ll need nine.”

“You’re the top dog, and you think you know everyting.” Bria sneered. “Improvise.”

“This is so disgusting.” Fetrius screwed up his face with distaste. “Who’s got the bronze pot?” He looked around the room at the men.

Andy of the Greek armor persuasion stepped away from the wall. “I do,” he boomed in a deep full voice.

“Let’s get this over with, then. Who’s got water?”

Tacita picked up the capped bottle in front of her and threw it at Fetrius, hitting him in the stomach.

He doubled over, letting out a loud “Oof!” but managed to catch the bottle with his free hand, then glared at the woman in the toga. “After all these years, you’re still pissed about Mercury, aren’t you, Tacita? Well, you brought it on yourself.” He opened the plastic bottle with his teeth, spit out the cap, and poured the water over the beans. “You could have waited to give me these, Bria. Is everyone ready?”

Hand still dripping, he turned away from the circle and tossed a bean over his shoulder, crying out, “These I cast. With these beans I redeem me and mine.”

Behind him Andy pounded on the pot with his sword and shouted, “Ghosts of my fathers and ancestors, be gone.”

Fetrius threw another bean over his shoulder and repeated, “This I cast. With these beans I redeem me and mine.”

Again, Andy banged on the pot. “Ghosts of my fathers and ancestors, be gone.”

I leaned toward Lara again. “How many times do they do this?”

“Usually nine, but he’s a couple of beans short.”

Only a couple? “Then what happens?”

“Shh.”

After the third bean casting and the pot banging, there came a horrible howl from behind us. Fetrius didn’t turn, but I did just as L’Amour, the ghost man, screamed and moaned and collapsed on the floor. His stench permeated the cavern.

The fourth bean took flight. More racket. Renewed moaning and writhing. More eew!
While L’Amour hadn’t won my “favorite of the day” award, I drew the line at torture, even torture by bean tossing. I tucked my knees under me in a position to rise.

Lara rested her hand lightly on my forearm. “No. You must stay in the circle. It is dangerous to break it. Think about it, Harriet. You will understand… and you will benefit.”
I sank back down and blew out a long breath. Again, L’Amour screamed, although now the wails seemed weaker and further away.

“Is he going to be all right?” My voice shook. The light was beginning to dawn. Through the confusion, bits and pieces of mythology came alive in my brain and began to fit together into a recognizable pattern.

She shook her head. “He will go, and all will be well. For him… and also for you.”

Squeezing my lids tight, I attempted to block out the rest of the ritual. In comparison, the roasting goldfish part hadn’t been so bad, after all.

With the Lemuria ritual completed, Fetrius turned and studied the heap of limp black cloth that pooled on the floor where L’Amour had stood. Andy, without his pot, walked over to the place and from his belt pouch took something fine and granular and sprinkled it over the black nothingness. Then he chanted the words, “Fathers, thy graves are honored. Honored spirits, be appeased.”

Silently, Mona rose and stood beside Andy while she took off her crown.

“But she broke the cir‒” I began.

“Shh!” Mona hissed at me with annoyance and continued, “We can use this instead of a wreathed tile.” She placed the twig and apple-blossom crown on the black stain and looked around at the others. “Where is the bread soaked in wine?”

Bria joined Andy and Mona. Wiggling her stout form between the two, she put her arms around their waists. “I’m afraid we ate that for lunch,” she confessed with contrition. “Do you think we can get along without it?”

Everyone gaped at her, but no one spoke.

Finally, Andy shook his head in dismay. “I suppose we can. It’s been a long time since I’ve done this. Just don’t barf it up.” He sighed and shook his head with regret. “The dead are placated. Poor lemures.”

Bria nodded. “It was time. They needed a rest. I told you this new religion was going to be trouble. No one has taken care of these things for a couple thousand years. Slackers, all of them.”

At some point in the past half hour, my usually fertile imagination had faltered and gone on vacation. Baffled and numb, I glanced around the room. Lars still stood guard at the door, his eyes filled with suspicion. The Nose wrote furiously on his notepad. Calogerus sat crossed legged on the floor, spinning the charred goldfish on the bronze needle and giggling.

Fetrius smacked Andy lightly on the shoulder. “Always the promoter of piety, Aeneas. Can we leave now?” he demanded. “A being in my position is in great demand. I’ve got other obligations.”

Lars came alive for the first time. “Soon, perhaps. I hear them coming.”

Them? Who's them? I listened, but heard nothing other than the stirring of the folks within the chamber as they began blotting out all signs of the rituals that had taken place there.

“Help me erase the circle,” Bria commanded the others.

Sagging against the wall, I allowed my body to slide down until I sat on the floor with my back against the cold stone. From there, watching them scurry about, I couldn't help wondered if they intended to dig up the mouse.

Think about it, Lara had advised, as though she expected me to have the information stored somewhere in my gray matter. Well hidden, but there. What did I know? This was Halloween, prelude to the Day of the Dead. We were in the Roman catacombs, a cemetery. These odd folks had performed mysterious and ancient rituals. What was the connection? Halloween. Samhain. Feralia. Lemuria.

“That’s it!” My shout brought stares from the others and a smile from Lara, the Roman policewoman. The guardia. The Guardian. “Of course!”

I sprang to my feet and dashed to where Lara smoothed the earth to cover the last remnants of poor L’Amour. 'Poor lemures,' Andy had said. Lemures... the Roman word for the spirits of the dead.

It was lemure, then, not L’Amour. A ghost. A restless spirit. Lares and Lararia, not Lars and Lara. The mythical Guardians of Rome, twin offspring of the god Mercury and the water nymph Dea Tacita ‒ no wonder Tacita had put away so much water without ever using the restroom ‒ the mute goddess who ruled the underworld. Jupiter had cut out her tongue for cheating on him with Mercury and sent her to rule the dead.

Then I heard the distant thud of footsteps coming from the mouth of the passageway. My pulse quickened. My connection with Will sizzled like electricity through my body. All my senses shifted to full alert. He’s here.

“Quick, Lara. They’re coming for us. You’re one of the Lares ‒ the Guardians of Rome, right? Lars is Lares, your twin. And Fetrius, he’s the god Iuupiter Fetetrius? Jupiter?”

Pleased, Lara’s lips curled into a smile. “I knew you’d figure it out.”

I shook her arm. “Tell me the whole story.”

“No time. Do some research on the Internet. Look up Jupiter Fetetrius and the water nymph Juturna, or just Feralia. You talked about it earlier. You’ll find your answers.”

“You said something would happen to me, too. That won't be on the internet. Tell me... please."

“Harriet!” Will’s muffled shout filtered through the tunnels. My heart leaped. Hand in hand, relief and joy tap-danced through my arteries. Thank God.

Lara smiled with approval. “Think about what we have done, Harriet. Bria silenced unfriendly mouths. Jupiter Fetetrius exorcized dead ghosts and sent them home. Aeneas ‒ you called him Andy, I think ‒ honored the grave of neglected spirits and placated them. And Ovid recorded it all.”

Now that I had a handle on it, recollections of Greek and Roman mythology flooded back into my mind. “Naso was the poet Ovid’s surname, wasn’t it? But tell me one more thing, who the heck is Calogerus?”

The Guardian shrugged. “I haven’t a clue. He might have been one of the Christian martyrs, but he just showed up and wanted to help. None knows who he belongs to.”

Chapter Five

“Harriet! Can you hear me?” Will’s voice sounded much closer now.

I straightened and shouted, “Will! I’m here.”

Lara cocked her head in the direction of the door. “The man calling you. He will tell you what has changed,” she assured me.

At once, my thoughts shifted to Will’s nightmares. No more nightmares? No more bad dreams? No more unfriendly accusing voices in his head? No more angst over the past? With the ghosts of his murdered parents placated and sent to their rest, perhaps our relationship could survive, after all.

“Harriet! Can you hear me?” Will’s voice sounded much closer now.

Running toward the door to the chamber, waving both hands, I yelled, “Will! I’m here.”

Lara cocked her head in the direction of the door.
I glanced at my watch. It was only ten minutes after six. We hadn’t been down here much more than thirty minutes. It seemed hours. “But‒”

That’s when Will and five men from Security burst in, finding the nine tourists and me waiting to be rescued from a dimly lit, musty cavern where all appeared as though we had just arrived there.

I threw myself into Will’s arms and sobbed against his muscled chest. “I knew you’d find us.”

He pressed me close, his throbbing heart pounding in rhythm with mine, its strong steady beat feeding my growing sense of well-being.

“You scared me, Tiger,” he whispered. “I was afraid something had happened to you.”

My usually reliable organs seized. Perhaps later, at a more appropriate time, I could find a way to tell him my story and ask about his mental health. Later! For once, I put a sock in it.

Instead, with my arms around his neck, I pulled his head down and pressed my lips to his. His kiss, at first warm and light, deepened until the bottom dropped out of my stomach, and my whole body clenched. I loved him so much.

Every eyes in the room, maybe even the fish's, watched us. I could almost feel them boring into our souls... and I didn’t care. Peace and contentment seemed to descend on us, wrapping us in silken cords. All the tension and discord, all the doubt that separated us when he’d left on his trip, had dissipated. He was with me. His arms enfolded me. I was safe, and everything would be right again.

Afterward, I couldn’t remember how we got out of the depths of the catacombs. I couldn’t remember climbing the stairs or making a statement to the head of Security and the Carabiniere on duty. I couldn’t remember what happened to Calogerus without an adult chaperon. I couldn’t remember Will driving me home.

But three things did stick in my conscious mind. I remembered the complete harmony between Will and me… and the trick-or-treating.

There was no problem recalling the way reality readjusted, as though our missing companion, L’Amour, had never existed. I, alone, was aware there had been fourteen tourists who entered the catacombs with me, but only thirteen names appeared on my written list. The San Callisto ticket office had issued only fourteen tickets, including mine.

And I shall never forget that when I helped my people climb onto the bus, only forty-five minutes behind schedule, they looked exactly like your average tired tourists after a long day, dressed in ordinary run-of-the-mill Halloween garb and chatting cheerfully about the costume party they were scheduled to attend at dinner.

Nothing more. Nothing less… except for seven black beans in my trouser pocket.
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REMERMBER THE BEES: Writing Characters of other Ethnic and Cultural Background

10/15/2021

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I HAVE A PROBLEM
The main character in my contemporary series is a tour guide who travels to many countries and has people from everywhere in her tour groups. Hence, I must create characters from ethnic groups and cultures that I am not part of. These characters must be believable and real, and I want to do this without unintentionally writing something that is offensive to members of other cultures I’m writing about.

That dilemma prompted this blog about how to write characters from other ethnic groups and cultures.

Personally, I start from the point of view that God created us all equal. Humans have two legs and two arms with one head and a brain that is capable of unbelievable things. Our bodies and internal organs are the same no matter where we are from. Our basic human needs and fears are the same.

It is what happens at birth and afterward that creates the differences in people. The experience of living and surviving is unique to every person. You can’t live in anyone else’s skin or know exactly their thoughts and feelings, but the closer your experiences are to those of the other person, the easier it is to empathize and to come closer to real understanding.

“I suspect most people feel more or less the same when being chased by bees.” Max Gladstone in intellectusspecul-max-gladstone-on-bees

SHOULD WHITE AUTHORS WRITE ABOUT CHARACTERS OF OTHER ETHNIC AND CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS?
The consensus seems to be that they should. After all, we live in a diverse world. In most contemporary settings – even in most historical novels -- an all-white cast of characters would be odd, as it hardly reflects reality. So yes, a white author can write a diverse cast… and will learn something in the process.

In both contemporary and historical novels, if a writer is being realistic, it’s hard to find a time and place without at least some representation from people of other races or cultures who could show up at least as secondary characters, if not primary, depending on the type of novel, location, and time.

The second part of this answer, however, is that the writers must do their homework. Research! Research! Research! Then be respectful and understand which lines not to cross.

Mya Nunnally [bookriot.com/casually-racist-things-that-white-authors-do/] writes:
“It’s hard to explain the importance of representation to someone who doesn’t understand. But it’s like not having a good parent to look up to. You don’t have a positive image of what you can be. When you’re a young child of color and all around you are stories and movies and television about white children, you internalize the idea that hey—maybe my story isn’t as important as theirs.”

TAKING ON THE TASK
The following applies to primary and secondary characters who have an impact on the story, not to pass-through characters. It is less relevant with minor characters who come and go throughout the novel without a significant role, but they still need some descriptors including ethnicity and/or culture.

● Ask The Big Questions
What is my purpose in writing this? Who do I expect to be my audience? These are questions the author should ask himself regardless of what kind of novel he is writing. Then, is the intended theme of the novel about ethnicity/ culture or is it a mainstream theme with characters who are persons of color?

Whatever you are writing, and particularly if your target audience is primarily white, this is an opportunity to add diversity to your books in ways that help other white people understand and embrace the similarities we all share as human beings. Remember the bees.

Are you willing to do the work? If you are writing a 500 page historical POC family saga, you are in for a lot of research. Be sure you know what kind of novel you intend to write and your purpose in writing it.

● Research!
Massive research! Start by clearing your mind of everything you think you know about that ethnicity and culture. Be cautious of allowing friendships within the specific ethnic/ cultural group to be your only source of information. Even a multitude of friends can’t represent everything about the entire history or culture.

Look at your own ethnicity/ culture and think about how many differences there are between you other people you know in the same group. You will find many differences in background and experiences, even if you are all of the same ethnic group. Just don't try to cram everything you've learned into the novel; only use the parts pertinent to the story.

● Read
Read literature written by and for the group you want to depict. Also read or view anything you can which expresses the group members unhappiness with the way they are portrayed in the media and thought of by the general public. Read examples of white writers who handle ethnicity well, and maybe one who doesn’t.

Kelly Nichols and Kris Montee -- two sisters who write as P. J. Parrish – are a good example of writing a POC as the main character. They are so successful at writing their Louis Kincaid series, that the editor who bought the first book thought it had been written by a black man.

● Persist
Hang in there, even when your feelings are hurt, you are overwhelmed with “white guilt”, or become defensive. Kayla Ancrum says [mediadiversified.org/how-to-write-women/men-of-colour],
"This blinding rage some People of Color have for white people is not born of bigoted prejudice, but rather from old hurt. Or fear. Or pain.”

You must must must disassociate your personal feelings about the issues and just sit quietly and listen and not get emotional. The purpose is to educate yourself about the issues that this group – and the character you want to write about – has strong feelings about and discuss in their everyday life.

● Be Aware of Ethnicity
Do not have your white characters pretend People of Color are not POC. White people and POC see the difference in each other. That isn’t to say they can’t interact, be friends, treat the each other with respect, etc, but they are aware of the difference. Mixed race people are often very cognizant of their racial perception and where and how they fit in. When you write such a character, they should have that awareness. Readers should identify with your character’s human characteristics over everything else.

● Turn About Is Fair Play
Right now, most of the articles available on this subject are about white writers trying to create characters of color or different cultural backgrounds. That’s to be expected since the majority of the authors are white. However, white people are not homogeneous and do not come from the same cultural backgrounds any more than persons of color do.

When anyone, white or a person of color, writes a character, just as much research about era, location and cultural background is necessary for the time and place. Most likely, the person of color or other culture doesn’t know about a white person’s ethnicity and culture, nor understand their attitudes, values, and mindset. It should be a learning experience for a POC author as well.

● Use a Beta Reader
Have one or more Beta readers from your character’s ethnic or cultural group to assess your work and keep you on the right track.

BE AWARE OF THE PITFALLS
My opinion is that the major pitfalls can be avoided if the writer has done the research I keep harping about, and is aware of being respectful and sensitive. The following pitfalls are very important to POC readers.

● White by Default
White by default is a sticky wicket and is as much a writing issue as a sensitivity issue. In many novels, when characters are introduced, only those persons of color are called out. That leaves the reader with the idea that everyone else is white if not identified as something else. This doesn’t bother most white writers, but it does bother the readers who are not white. It may cause younger readers to ask, “Aren’t there other people like me out there?”

So, what's the option? You can't introduce every character by mentioning their ethnicity.

The rule of thumb is that pass-through characters who never show up again in the novel [the waiter, the maid, the bank teller] and have no impact, are not described at all or with only one descriptor [e.g. the waiter with the big Roman nose].

Writing primary and secondary characters require the heavy-duty research and a Beta reader if possible. Minor characters who show up now and then, or who are there but have little or no role in the outcome are usually described often by actions as well as unique things about their looks [e.g. the maid with with the limp].

All characters need to be introduced by showing, not a feature-by-feature description, which will probably solve the introducing only white or only POC characters. Physical character description should be more than skin tone. Show the reader hair, eyes, noses, mouth, hands. Body posture, body shape, skin texture… though not all of those nor at once.

● Avoid Stereotypes
Stereotypes are a no-no in every type of writing. It’s lazy writing; a shorthand used to make quick descriptions of minor characters. When a writer does this, it’s easy to fall back on stereotypes.

All your characters should possess a fully realized, well-rounded personalities. After all, not all Japanese are good at math or a master at martial arts. Stereotypes are particularly noticeable in clothes, hairstyles, professions, and dialogue.

● Do Not Describe People Of Color Using Foods
If I learned one thing, it is that People of Color do not like having their skin colors described as a food color.

Mya Nunnally [bookriot.com/casually-racist-things-that-white-authors-do/] explains that first, this kind of description is usually applied to people of color. Second, “People of color have a shisorty of being used for slave labor involving food, especially coffee, chocolate, and so on. /the words you use have a historical context. Be aware of them."

Don’t despair if one of your latino characters has “skin the color of caramel.” There are plenty of other ways to describe skin tone, including flowers and earthtones. Here are a few listed in "writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/words-for-skin-tone".

• Basic colors ▲ • Wood Tones ▲

• Expanded BasicTones ▲

• Mineral and Gemstone Colors ▲

• Metals Tones ▲ • Some Flower Tones ▲

● Writing Dialogue in Black Dialect
Black English is a dialect of English, not standard English using bad grammar or slang. The dialect is African-American Vernacular (AAVE), and should be researched the same as any unfamiliar dialect. The name for the dialect was suggested in 1975 by a Black scholar. Even though it was never formally adopted by linguists, the dialect has its own rules and structure. Don’t wing it!

Scholars still argue about what AAVE should be called, leaning one way or another at different times. This probably why our white population isn’t familiar with either the name or the concept of it being a dialect. At this point in time, this is the name to use when researching.

● The Faithful Sidekick
Ever since – and maybe before -- Author Fran Striker wrote the “Lone Ranger” series of books, first released in 1936, the only person of color [if there was one in the story] was the hero’s sidekick or maybe the villain. Those works in themselves were surprising for the time to have one lone POC character. Be cautious when you use a POC as a sidekick. At least make the character a full blown person with the appropriate feelings and mindset for the time and place, and give him or her a significant role.

● The White Savior
Another pitfall is the novel with the white person who “saves the natives”, presumably because they can’t do it themselves.

The movie “Avatar” is a good example. After it opened with great box office success, a deluge of blogposts, tweets and articles claimed the movie was "a fantasy about race told from the point of view of white people" and that it reinforces "the white Messiah fable." The lead actress, Robinne Lee, who is black with Jamaican and Chinese ancestry, said, “It's really upsetting in many ways. It would be nice if we could save ourselves." cbsnews.com/racist-theme-in-avatar/

TAKE AWAYS
There is a lot more to be discussed about diversity in writing novels… just look at the number of sources. Across the board, we all need to respect the rights and dignity of others and to be aware of and sensitive to those things that hurt or denigrate others.The more the topic is addressed in the writing community, the better we will get at mutually dismantling inequality. Writing a POC character in a book with sensitivity and understanding may seem a small step, but every step in the right direction counts.

JUST SAYIN
■
Sources:
https://medium.com/thrive-global/24-things-that-only-writers-know-from-writers-464c0a625bb7
https://nelsonagency.com/2017/01/can-white-authors-write-characters-of-color/
https://midnightbreakfast.com/writing-people-of-color
https://www.springhole.net/writing/offensivemistakes.htm
https://writingtheother.com/writing-characters-of-different-races/
https://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2016/06/20/how-to-write-protagonists-of-colour-when-youre-white/
https://writersrelief.com/2018/02/15/characters-different-ethnicities-writers-relief/
https://midnightbreakfast.com/writing-people-of-color
https://indefeasible.wordpress.com/2008/03/23/writing-about-characters-of-a-different-race/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Understanding
https://clairelight.typepad.com/seelight/2006/09/almond_eyes.html
https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/96830966357/writing-with-color-description-guide-words-for
https://cypheroftyr.com/2016/05/20/so-you-want-to-describe-a-poc-character/
https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/95955707903/skin-writing-with-color-has-received-several
https://www.nap.edu/read/1785/chapter/8
http://authorelizaandrews.com/on-writing-about-race-when-youre-white/
https://nelsonagency.com/2017/01/can-white-authors-write-characters-of-color/
https://intellectusspeculativus.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/guest-post-max-gladstone-on-bees-and-diversity/
https://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2016/06/20/how-to-write-protagonists-of-colour-when-youre-white/
https://writingtheother.com/writing-characters-of-different-races/
https:/www.writersdigest.com/wd-books/characters-and-viewpoint-excerpt
http://www.countriesandcultures.com/spanish-stereotypes-of-americans/
https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/discussion/why-do-we-read-and-write-novels
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02167900
https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-practical-differences-between-intellectual-and-emotional-empathy
http://www.journal.kfionline.org/issue-6/this-matter-of-intellectual-understanding
https://intellectusspeculativus.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/guest-post-max-gladstone-on-bees-and-diversity/
https://bookriot.com/casually-racist-things-that-white-authors-do/
https://bookriot.com/white-as-the-default/
http://udel.edu/~dlarsen/ling101/slides/AAE.pdf
https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/post/96830966357/words-for-skin-tone-how-to-describe-skin-color
https://www.dictionary.com/e/united-states-diversity-african-american-vernacular-english-aave/
https://cynthialeitichsmith.com/2014/02/writing-tonto-wise-cracking-minority/
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MightyWhitey
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/racist-theme-in-avatar/
Paper by Rebecca S. Wheeler at the Workshop of Language, Westport, Connecticut 1999
Title: African American English is not Standard English with Mistakes.
https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/10/16/the-effects-of-seeing-asian-americans-as-a-model-minority/model-minority-seems-like-a-compliment-but-it-does-great-harm
https://mediadiversified.org/2013/12/19/how-to-write-women-of-colour-and-men-of-colour-if-you-are-white/
http://www.criminalelement.com/writing-where-your-protagonist-is-a-different-culture-or-race-john-keyse-walker-sun-sand-murder-comment-sweepstakes/
https://wendyallott.com/2018/02/07/what-should-you-consider-when-writing-characters-who-are-have-a-different-race-religion-gender-or-sexual-preference-to-you/
https://intellectusspeculativus.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/guest-post-max-gladstone-on-bees-and-diversity/https://intellectusspeculativus.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/guest-post-max-gladstone-on-bees-and-diversity/
https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-practical-differences-between-intellectual-and-emotional-empathy
https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/10/16/the-effects-of-seeing-asian-americans-as-a-model-minority/model-minority-seems-like-a-compliment-but-it-does-great-harm

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NO MORE UGLY ROOFS: Solar Energy

10/15/2021

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THE ANCIENT POWER OF SOLAR POWER

“The Solar Industry Has Been Waiting 60 Years For This To Happen — And It Finally Just Did” businessinsider.com.au/sola (2014)

When it comes to solar power, the headline from the Business Insider is off by several thousand years off.

Millennia prior to human reliance on fossil fuels for energy, electricity, and heat, people relied on the sun for the comforts and necessities of life. The sun was revered by many ancient cultures, often as a god, but certainly as the most powerful element of their world. The concept of using solar power for general purposes it not a modern one.

The Egyptians were the first civilization known to use solar energy on a large scale to heat their homes. Egyptian houses were designed to store heat in thick building walls during the day, which then released the heat after the sun went down to warm the interiors at night. Many civilizations are known to use techniques for putting solar energy to work heating homes and buildings and many other things.

Ancient Egyptian Housing
Image Source: pp.emaze.com/egyptian-home

Egypt’s 1st solar powered village (2016)
Image Source: mentalfloss.com/egypt

Furthermore, some researchers believe that the ancient Egyptians developed highly-polished bronze mirrors that were strategically placed at the entrance of monuments and inside them to allow solar energy and sun rays to enter the building, lighting it up.

“The Greeks used the power of the sun by focusing its energy through a magnifying glass, to start their cooking fires. Sun power was also a major consideration in siting buildings. “Socrates taught classes on the art of passive solar architecture—how to build houses and other buildings to best take advantage of the sun’s light and energy.”
cleanchoiceenergy.com/Ancient_Solar

Ancient Greek Housing Ancient House - Hippocrates Garden Cultural Center
Image Source: pinterest.com/pin/687a Image Source: kosexplorer.com/place/ancient-house

The city of Olynthus in northern Greece became the first solar city of ancient Greece (4th century BC). Its streets were designed so that every house could face south.

The ancient Greeks, Romans, Native Americans, and Chinese also used similar techniques to help regulate the temperature in their homes. The Romans applied the same principles to heating their public baths, which could be quite large.

Image Source: crystalinks.com/romebaths.html

THE HISTORY OF SOLAR PANELS
The prehistory of the solar panel began in 1839 when 19-year-old physicist named Edmond Becquerel (French) was working on the coating of platinum electrodes using silver chloride. He discovered a rise in voltage on exposure to light, and the effect was named the photovoltaic effect

Twenty years later no one had conceived the notion of the solar panel. It wasn’t even a glimmer in the eye of another Frenchman, Augustin Mouchot, when he predicted that eventually coal would be used up and invented a solar steam engine.
Augustin Mouchot’s solar engine
Image credit: Academie De Touraine
Image Source: ecotality.com/history-of-solar-panels/

By 1883, American inventor Charles Fritts had devised the first proper “working” photovoltaic cell. The cell was fashioned from Selenium and had an efficiency of only one percent (1%.). The modules were constructed by coating a wide plate of copper with selenium and then topped it with an extremely thin semi-transparent layer of gold leaf, producing current that was continuous and constant. In 1884 Fritts installed the first roof mounted solar panels in the work in New York City.
Charles Fritts solar panels installed, NY(1884)
Image Credit: Smithsonian Magazine
Image Source: ecotality.com/history-of-solar-panels/

Over the next two decades research continued on the photoelectric effect and solar cells.

In a famous paper published in 1905, Einstein explained the photovoltaic (PV) effect and postulated that light had an attribute that had not yet been recognized. Einstein said light contains packets of energy which he called light quanta (now called photons).

The mid-twentieth century marks an important era of developments in solar panels. American engineer Russell Ohl made the groundbreaking discovery of the P-N junction where light causes electrons to flow from negative to positive, resulting in electrical current. He also invented the first modern cell using the P-N junction. Today’s PV cell is a lot similar to Ohl’s cell. Russell Ohl - Image Soiurce:
computerhope.com/1987.htm

In April, 1954 a slightly modified wafer of silicon, called a "solar cell", that converted sunlight directly into electrical energy was unveiled by Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ. The solar cell was an outgrowth of transistor research. It worked at an efficiency of six percent (6%), comparable to gasoline engines at the time.

The Bell scientists believed that the efficiency figure could be raised to 10 per cent through normal engineering techniques. Daryl Chapin, Gerald Pearson, and Calvin Fuller of Bell Laboratories, publicly demonstrated the first photovoltaic cell. It powered a toy Ferris wheel and a radio transmitter.
The Bell Labs Team Image Credit: Greentech Media
Image Source: : ecotality.com/history-of-solar-panels/

A solar water heater dated 1929
Image Credit: Library of Congress
Image Source: businessinsider.com.au/solar-water-heater

Since the 1970 the idea of solar heating and solar power has been catching on slowly – boosted later on by the federal and state incentives -- and the sophistication and efficiency of the panels have been steadily improving. Many experimental houses were built under the auspices of universities as part of the early ecology/ save-the-planet movement before there was any public awareness of environmental impacts and no “green” movement.

Example of 1970s panels - Image Source: Meadowvale Solar Home 1977 (Canada)
dreamstime.com/old-solar-panel-1970 Image Credit: Ottawa: Division of Building Research,
National Research Council - Image Source:
activehistory.ca/solar-heating-in-1970s

The Meadowvale Solar Home was an experimental home was built in 1977 to test the application of solar heating technology in Canada. While a success, it provided heat far less efficiently than the WATSUN model calculated and experienced many more technical problems than the model projected. [Picture Provided by: B. E. Sibbett and H. Jung, Performance of the Meadowvale Solar System (1981)].

THE UGLY-ROOF ERA
As popularity of using solar energy primarily for heating grew, so did the costs of the improved panels and the labor to install. According to solarenergyworld.com, “some people who claim to be pro-environment say they won’t go solar because they do not like how the panels look. This is surprising considering the devastating effect fossil fuels have had on the health of our planet. This proves beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

Trash bags on the roof
Image Source: celestialsolar.com/solar-pool-heating/

Visual incompatibility of materials
Image Source: 1.ciampeathehomedesignings.com/

One of the reasons solar panels are basically unattractive is because the people who build them – Giving them the benefit of the doubt -- are guided by size and the best and longest exposure to the sun. Aesthetics don’t mean much to a contractor who installs panels. The stark contrast between the solar panel in the second photo and the roofing material is not aesthetically pleasing.

Layout looks helter skelter Forgotten trampoline on roof Visible boxes and power lines
Source of Images: evelectricity.com/solar

In the first photo above, the materials don't look well together but it would look better with a racking system that allows for mounting the panels closer to the roof. In the second photo, the height and size make it appear that someone forgot their trampoline on the roof. The third photo is the way the side of the house looks from the street. Very unattractive.

Of course, most of us have to approach the purchase (or rental) of solar panels from the position of having to retrofit existing housing. Cost is always a factor. These kinds of solutions have been what the average Joe in the US can afford with or without government incentives. New construction has always offered more pleasant alternatives to the roof panel.

21st CENTURY INNOVATION SAVES THE DAY
Only in recent years have the technology and materials been developed to solve these problems. Now days, the entire roof of the house can be the solar energy system for the home.

“Small solar panels are typically miniature or technologically advanced versions of larger systems. This can range from a small solar panel of few solar cells wired together to make a small but easy-to-use solar panel, to nano-materials that are invisible to the naked eye but still produce electric current. Small solar panels can also be found in radio sets, transmitters, calculators and other portable appliances.” solarenergyfactsblog.com/small-solar-panels/

Today, solar panels and miniaturized solar cells come in a variety of forms and colors.

Coming Soon - Spray-On Solar Panels
New spray-on solar technology can turn all windows and other exposed surfaces into solar panels. A film of light absorbing meta-nano-particles is sprayed on surfaces like windows to make them capable of trapping the sunlight and converting it to electricity. Perhaps one of the most advanced solar inventions, spray-on films can generate electricity on see-through glass and even exterior walls. However, this technology is still mostly
restricted to the lab.
Tiny spray on solar panel - Image Source: solarenergyfactsblog.com/

Thin Film Solar Panels
Thin film solar panels, which are comprised of a super-thin, flexible film, can be quite small and suited to specific purposes (like solar calculators). Their flexibility means that can be used almost anywhere and they’re finding more real-world applications as time goes on.

Thin film solar panels - Image Source: solarenergyfactsblog.com/

Solar Shingles and Tiles
Solar shingles are a variation of solar panels in the form of roof tiles. These solar panels resemble roofing tiles in size and texture and can be used for a (possibly) more aesthetically pleasing solar array. Modern solar tiles which use copper indium gallium selenide semiconductor films are cost effective
and efficient. There are now a variety of these on the market.Solar Shingles - Image Source: solarenergyfactsblog.com/

This prefabricated home below has a roof made up of solar panels that do not call attention to themselves as such. Architect: Richard Pedranti.

A pitched roof optimizes the RPA Prefab LivingHome 1
Image Source: dwell.com/article/plant-prefab-livinghomes

Below is the sample house built by Tesla Company using One of the several Tesla Roof Tiles.

Solar roof tiles by Tesla Company - Images Source:
understandsolar.com/pros-cons- solar-energy

Solar panels are extremely versatile in that they can be used anywhere in the world and in numerous different applications. They can be used by homeowners who connect to the utility grid, allowing them to sell excess electricity produced to the utility.

Solar panels can be used in off-grid applications, allowing extremely remote homes that are too far from the utility grid to have electricity for the first time.

A small solar installation can even be coupled with batteries to create micro-grids shared by several communities, allowing remote villages to have electricity for the very first time.

This house in the UK has a roof made of roof tube
Source of Images: /roof-tube.co.uk/no-more-ugly-solar-panels/

Lft - Solar roof tiles
Image Source: goodshomedesign.com/green-electricity

Center - Clay-looking solar tiles
Image Source: energis.com.au/

VARIETY OF USES
In addition to heating houses and other buildings, solar energy is used to power many other things, many of which people see everyday. I found one use, however, that really surprised me.

The French have built the first solar panel road in the world. It runs for 1 kilometer through the small village of Tourouvre-au-Perche, in Normandy. It is the first “trial” piece of the French government’s initiative to cover a 1,000 km of the roads in France with solar panels.

Image Source: arch2o.com/first-solar-panel-road/

The road is expected to be used by approximately 2,000 motorists per day, generating 767 Kilowatt-hours which should be sufficient for supplying the 3,400-resident village’s streetlights with electricity. Still it cost 5 million euros which is highly cost ineffective.

Project directors believe that they are “still on an experimental phase,” and have learned new improved methods for the installation and manufacturing of the solar panels which can be used for the rest of the project.

What are these people thinking?

JUST SAYIN
■
Sources:
http://solarcellcentral.com/history_page.html
http://ww1.ciampeathehomedesignings.com/
https://www.solarchoice.net.au/blog/what-happens-to-old-solar-panels/
http://solarenergyfactsblog.com/small-solar-panels/
https://ecotality.com/history-of-solar-panels/
https://www.arch2o.com/france-opens-worlds-first-solar-panel-road-normandy/
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/solar-price-terrordome-chart-2014-4
http://www.weatherfast.co.uk/
https://roof-tube.co.uk/no-more-ugly-solar-panels/
https://www.motherearthliving.com/green-homes/basics-passive-solar-home-design
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/03/21/2019-architectural-digest-design-show/
https://www.solarenergyworld.com/most-people-no-longer-believe-solar-panels-are-ugly/
https://www.dwell.com/article/cube-two-x-nestron-035d916a/6848343031185362944
http://www.evelectricity.com/solar/solar-neighborhood.php
https://understandsolar.com/top-10-pros-cons-solar-energy
https://suncityenergy.com/2021/06/23/solar-house-design-considerations/
https://arxiv.org/vc/arxiv/papers/0910/0910.0128v1.pdf
https://cleanchoiceenergy.com/news/Ancient_Solar
http://www.kosexplorer.com/place/ancient-house-hippocrates-garden-cultural-center/
https://resource.cecsb.org/solar-design-in-ancient-greece/
https://www.suryaharapan.com/types-of-solar-panels/
https://www.solarmaxtech.com/blog/p.130303000/the-history-of-solar-power-solar-energy-in-ancient-times/
https://activehistory.ca/2015/11/tomorrow-sunny-the-rise-and-fall-of-solar-heating-in-1970s-canada-part-3/
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/experts-give-their-wisdom-on-todays-best-sustainable-building-practices

https://www.dwell.com/article/plant-prefab-livinghomes-richard-pedranti-architect-516c0549#:~:text=Plant%20Prefab%20has%20teamed%20up%20with%20Richard%20Pedranti,complete%20with%20all%20finishes%2C%20fixtures%2C%20and%20technic

Photos Only
https://antiquatedrecruited.blogspot.com/2019/09/ancient-greek-house-architecture.html
https://www.booking.com/hotel/eg/albabenshal.html#blockdisplay4
https://www.crystalinks.com/romebaths.html
https://www.computerhope.com/history/1987.htm
http://www.kosexplorer.com/place/ancient-house-hippocrates-garden-cultural-center/
https://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photos-old-solar-panel-1970-s-image6698778
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/87310/egypt-welcomes-its-first-solar-powered-village
https://app.emaze.com/@AOFIFTFR/egyptian-homes-joeseph#1
https://www.goodshomedesign.com/generate-cheap-green-electricity-from-sunlight-with-solar-roof-tiles/

https://www.celestialsolar.com/services/solar-pool-heating/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjabo-_PA8wIV7FnBCh0arg3XEAEYASAAEgLP_vD_BwE

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LITERALLY SPEAKING: Literary Terms

10/8/2021

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Many of the fiction authors I know did not major in Creative Writing at a major University. Many of us, myself included, learned by attending classes sponsored by professional writing organizations, by doing it wrong and starting over again – several times – and with peer support. This may or may not be a longer and bumpier path to authorhood, but it is one many of us take.
Being in that category, I never learned all the technical “literary terms”, only the ones that counted and those often have simpler names.

I had never heard of a Bildungsroman, which I now know means, in the mysterious literary language, a “coming-of-age” story.

All professions having their own “language” of words, phrases, nicknames, and abbreviations dealing with technicalities of the concepts and work, but when I looked into formal Literary Terms for creative writers and poets, it knocked my socks off.

LITERARY PURPOSE
The focus of the “literary purpose” is on the words themselves and on a conscious and deliberate arrangement of the words to produce a the effects the writer wants; an enriching effect. When you read a novel or a poem, or when you watch a movie or a TV comedy, or when you listen to a song, you are experiencing the literary purpose. Who knew?

A writer often expresses a worldview when using the literary purpose. The writer might comment on human nature or behavior. The reader gains insight to the human condition by understanding the writer's ideas. When used as a secondary purpose, the literary purpose enhances the primary purpose through figurative or poetic or playful language and often a sense of human struggle.

When literary purpose is the primary purpose, the writing should be fictional. As a secondary purpose, literary writing can be found in combination with the expressive or persuasive purpose. Because literary writing is figurative, it is seldom found in combination with referential writing, which is literal.

LITERARY TERMS
Literary Terms refer to the techniques, styles, and formatting used by writers to masterfully emphasize, embellish, or strengthen their compositions: Literary Devices. Among other things, literary devices can refer to playful techniques employed by comedians to make us laugh or witty tricks wordsmiths use to coin new words or phrases.” literaryterms.net/text=Literary

There are several problems working with an alphabetical list of Literary Terms. First, there are various categories of terms which are all mixed in together. Types of literature [poetry, prose, sonnets, folk tales, anecdotes, haiku, etc.] are mixed in together the terms referring to the types of story [mystery, romance, comedy, etc.], parts of speech, and other categories of terms.

Second, many of the terms are words that every writer already knows and understands [plot, character, setting, etc.] A few are tricky in that they are common words but have a slightly different meaning for writers than usual usage [conceit, apostrophe].

Third, the rest are mostly literary or rhetorical devices in some unidentified, foreign language which is a trick to make us all learn Greek. My impression is that some very well-read intellectual – a Greek scholar, perhaps – made them up to justify all the things great writers do which are inconsistent with the basic rules of English grammar and punctuation. As my mentor, Sid Stebel, always said, “A writer can do anything if it works.”

Still, if you choose to read the definitions, there are useful bits information which a writer can employ. For example, did you know that using Syndeton slows down the pace, whereas Asyndeton speeds it up.

Fourth, your spell check may suffer a nervous breakdown. Mine is still catatonic.

“Your spell checker had a nervous nervous breakdown."

TERMS YOU MAY NEVER NEED TO KNOW
While I am not a great fan of wasting time, I also believe that writers should be aware of Literary Terms and know where to look if the need for a literary device occurs. The list of sources should give you what you need.

Just for the fun of it, I’ve decided to feature one or two terms in my weekly newsletter, but to give you a taste, below you will find most of the terms beginning with the letter "A" that were unfamiliar to me.

Have fun!

Note: Most of these terms, definitions, examples, and commentary were copied from the following article, modified with editing and thoughts of my own, and information from the other listed sources.
https://literaryterms.net/#:~:text=Literary%20Terms%20Literary

Abecedarius
Definition
An abecedarius is an Acrostic where the first letter of every word or verse follows the order of the alphabet. For example, in the sentence A Bear Climbed Down, the first letter of every word is in alphabetical order: A, B, C, D.
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Acrostic
Definition
A form of writing where the first letter of each line, paragraph, or verse spells out a word or a message.
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Adynaton
Definition
Adynaton is a rhetorical device, a form of hyperbole, in which exaggeration is taken to a great extreme where it seems impossible. In other words, when hyperbole is magnified to such an extent that it is completely unfeasible, it is called adynaton. Ideas in the use of adynaton are exaggerated in order to emphasize something.

Adynaton and Hyperbole
Adynaton is a kind of hyperbole, though it is an extreme form. When hyperbole goes to an extreme level, that is completely impossible in reality, it is called adynaton. It is presented as an exaggerated comparison or contrast.

Function of Adynaton
Adynaton is used to create exaggeration, in order to emphasize some point. The basic purpose of using adynaton is to draw the attention of the audience by overstating something or idea. Adynaton in the modern age is to create amusing effects by highlighting an idea.
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Amplification
Definition
Amplification is a rhetorical device writers use to embellish a sentence or statement by adding further information. The objective is to increase readability and worth of the statement or sentence when a simple sentence is abrupt, and cannot convey the desired implications. Writers then use amplification to make structural additions, and give further meanings by describing and repeating a certain statement or idea. The purpose of this rhetorical device is to bring the readers’ attention to an idea, which they may miss otherwise.

Function of Amplification
By using amplification, writers repeat something they already have said with the purpose to add more information and details to the original description. In writing and speech, amplification tends to highlight the importance of an idea, to stimulate an emotional response among the audience. In fact, it adds an exaggeration, increases the rhetorical effect, and emphasizes to further elaborate definitions, descriptions, and arguments in a piece.
_________________________________________________________________________Anacoluthon
Definition
Anacoluthont is a stylistic device defined as a syntactic deviation, and interruption within a sentence from one structure to another. In this interruption, the expected sequence of grammar is absent. The grammatical flow of sentences is interrupted in order to begin more sentences.

Characteristics of Anacoluthon
It is employed intentionally, unintentionally, or as a rhetorical device. In rhetoric, anacoluthon is also known as a figure of disorder in which the syntax of a sentence does not correlate with whatever is expected. However, it should not to be mixed-up with hyperbaton which also involves a change in the normal position of words, phrases, and sentences.

Anacoluthon is the interruption within a sentence from one construction to another against the expected. The common use of anacoluthon is to imitate a thought or speech, and then logical order of the sentence. This change can occur within a sentence or in the form of tense.

Function of Anacoluthon
This shifts the necessary information towards the start of the sentence. In casual conversation, it is used in such a way that the sentence would not be considered correct grammatically. In written works, however, it is employed to imitate ungrammatical, confused, and informal speech, and to draw the attention of readers.

Anacoluthon is well-suited to the stream of consciousness writing style that is planned to signify thoughts in proximity to one another, because thoughts are not always consistent and hardly grammatically correct.
_________________________________________________________________________Anadiplosis
Definition
Anadiplosis refers to the repetition of a word or words in successive clauses in such a way that the second clause starts with the same word which marks the end of the previous clause.

Anadiplosis exhibits a typical pattern of repeating a word. For example, the repetition of the word “give” in the sentence “When I give, I give myself” is termed anadiplosis, as it occurs at the end of the first clause and marks the beginning of the following clause.

Similarly, notice how the use of anadiplosis repeats in its typical fashion the word “reliability” to highlight the main point of the sentence, “This public school has a record of extraordinary reliability, a reliability that every other school is jealous of in the city.”

Anadiplosis and Chiasmus
Anadiplosis is part of another figure of speech, chiasmus. However, every anadiplosis does not necessarily reverse its structure like it is done in chiasmus. For instance, “Forget what you want to remember, and remember what you want to forget” is an example of chiasmus [as it involves a reversal of structure in the second clause] and anadiplosis, as the word “remember” marks the end of one clause and the start of the subsequent clause.

Anadiplosis does not always employ a reversal of structure as in the sentence “The land of my fathers, and my fathers can have it.” It is an example of anadiplosis involving a typical repetition of the word “my fathers” but, unlike chiasmus, the structure of the final clause is not reversed.

Function of Anadiplosis
It repeats a word in quick succession, in successive clauses, in order to add emphasis to the main idea. This works because readers tend to focus on the repetition of words, and thereby on the idea emphasized by them.
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Anagnorisis
Definition
Anagnorisis refers to a moment of insight in a story’s plot in which a character, usually the protagonist, shifts from ignorance to awareness. The moment of anagnorisis may be a realization about the character’s self, their situation, or something about a different character. This may include revelation of a character’s true identity, their actual relationship with another character, or their misinterpretation of something important. As a literary device, anagnorisis is often utilized as a turning point in the plot of a story that leads to a resolution.

The moment in which the protagonist receives insight or enlightenment in terms of their own character, another character, or the dramatic situation in which they find themselves allows the plot to achieve its necessary resolution for the reader.

Difference Between Anagnorisis and Denouement
In literary works, anagnorisis and denouement may appear to be the same. However, they are distinct in their relationship to plot in a work of literature and their function within a literary narrative. In fact, it is often the moment of anagnorisis that leads to a narrative’s denouement. Anagnorisis may be the catalyst to how a narrative is resolved, whereas denouement is the end of a story’s narrative arc.

Function of Anagnorisis
Anagnorisis most often appears in modern works of literature as a character’s moment of ephiany in which they experience a surprising discovery that reveals something about their character, another character, or their situation. Overall, anagnorisis creates memorable moments of insight.
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Anaphora
Definition
Anaphora is a rhetorical device that features repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive sentences, phrases, or clauses, allowing writers to convey, emphasize, and reinforce meaning. This word repetition at the beginning of each phrase in a group of sentences or clauses is a stylized technique that can be very effective.

One of the most famous uses of anaphora is the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness…”

Through repetition of the phrase “it was,” Dickens reinforces to the reader that the time he is describing is a past filled with oppositions and extremes in way that engages the reader immediately with the story.

Example of Anaphora in Prose
In prose, anaphora can provide a rhythm to words and phrases. This can have a strong effect on an audience by appealing to emotions, inspiration, motivation, and even memory. Such a pattern of repetition captures the attention of the reader and can create a lasting impression.
Example: “We came, we saw, we conquered.” [translated from Latin, attributed to Julius Caesar in letter to Roman senate]

Difference Between Anaphora and Repetition
In a general sense, anaphora is repetition. However, anaphora is specific in its intent to repeat. Nonspecific repetition of words or phrases can take place anywhere in writing. With anaphora, the repetition is of a word or phrase at the beginning of consecutive sentences, phrases, or clauses. Therefore, this repetition is intentional for literary or rhetorical effect.

Function of Anaphora
As a literary device, anaphora functions as a means of emphasizing words and ideas. Also, it can also provide a lyrical and artistic effect. When used properly, anaphora can evoke emotion, reinforce or emphasize a concept, and create urgency or a call to action. When used poorly, however, anaphora can be alienate the reader by appearing to distracting and forced.
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Antanaclasis
Definition
Antanaclasis is a rhetorical device in which a phrasae or word is repeatedly used, though the meaning of the word changes in each case. It is the repetition of a similar word in a sentence with different meanings, or a word is repeated in two or more different senses. Many of Shakespeare’s literary pieces contain examples of antanaclasis. Like in these lines, “Put out the light, then put out the light…” [Othello]. The first meaning is that Othello would extinguish the candle, and in the second reference its meaning is that he would end Desdemona’s life.

Difference Between Epizeuxis and Antanaclasis
There is a slight difference between epizeuxs and antanaclasis, though both mean the repetition of words. In epizeuxis, the words or phrases are repeated in a succession in the same sentence or line. Such as in this passage, “Alone, alone, all all alone, /Alone on a wide, wide sea…”[ Ancient Mariner The Rime of the], by Samuel Coleridge. The words or phrases are repeated in a sentence or passage with different meanings.

Function of Antanaclasis
Antanaclasis helps in giving an exciting contrast with different meanings of the same word. It enhances the dramatic and persuasive impact of a piece of writing or speech. Antanaclasis creates comic effect when used in the form of irony and pun. Apart from that, it makes the literary text memorable due to repetition. It is used as a rhetorical device in poetry, prose, and political speeches. Political leaders make use of this technique in order to persuade and draw the attention of their audiences.
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Anthimeria
Definition
Anthimeria is a rhetorical device that uses a word in a new grammatical shape, often as a noun or a verb. Simply, it replaces one part of speech with another. Using nouns as verbs has become such a common practice that now many nouns are often used as verbs. In grammar studies, anthimeria has another name, “functional shift,” or “conversion.” In fact, language is always fluid, and is in constant transformation. Therefore, use of a verb as a noun or vice versa is not a surprise for linguists.

Function of Anthimeria
Anthimeria is very common in novels, short stories and particularly in poetry, where such replacement evokes mild emotions of confusion. The device provides writers a method to describe ideas in a unique way that makes the readers think. Sometimes, writers use a new word to create images and imagery.
_________________________________________________________________________Anthropomorphism
Definition
Anthropomorphism is a literary device that can be defined as a technique in which a writer ascribes human traits, ambitions, emotions, or entire behaviors to animals, non-human beings, natural phenomena, or objects.

Difference Between Anthropomorphism and Personification
Anthropomorphism is also a type of personification that gives human characteristics to non-humans or objects, especially animals. However, there is a slight difference between these two. Personification is an act of giving human characteristics to animals or objects to create imagery, while anthropomorphism aims to make an animal or object behave and appear like it is a human being. Pinocchio, the famous wooden doll, was anthropomorphized when he was given the ability to talk, walk, think, and feel like real boy.

Function of Anthropomorphism
The primary reason for using anthropomorphism is to make a wider appeal to the readers. With the use of objects or animals, the story can become visually appealing and non-threatening. Hence, it could attract the attention of a wider audience [including children] by presenting animated characters in tales and animated movies. In literature, it serves as an effective tool for creating political and social satires. Hence, it has a wider scope than merely to entertain children.
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Antimetabole
Definition
Antimetabole is a literary term or device that involves repeating a phrase in reverse order. Example: “You like it; it likes you.”

Chiasmus and antimetabole are usually expected to be overlapped in usage, and this overlap is also often used as a synonym for epanados [the repeating of a phrase or sentence in reverse order]. However, the writer would make them distinct through his use. Example: “Eat to live, not live to eat.” – Socrates

Difference Between Chiasmus and Antimetabole
Antimetabole and chiasmus are very closely related, and some experts even use them interchangeably. However, both the terms still exist to refer to two distinct literary devices. When a sentence is repeated by reversing it, so as to convey an idea or stress a point, it is called chiasmus [a sentence repeated inversely]. The only condition of a chiasmic sentence is that the two clauses in the phrase are opposite in meaning.

For example, the popular saying by Havelock Ellis: “Charm is a woman’s strength, strength is a man’s charm,” the sentence is an example of chiasmus, but is not an antimetabole. This is because the two clauses have opposite meanings, but the words and the grammatical makeup are dissimilar.

In an antimetabole the word order in a sentence is reversed to contrast the meanings. One very good example is Mae West’s catchphrase, “It’s not the men in my life; it’s the life in my men.” In this sentence the words, rhythm, and grammatical structure in the second phrase are exactly similar to the first one, but the meaning is opposite.

Functions of Antimetabole
For antimetabole to be effective, it does not only have to be grammatically correct, but should also be logical. People, after studying literature for a while, start thinking that they can churn out antimetaboles with a snap of a finger. They fail to understand the fact that a sentence cannot be called an antimetabole if it is not based on a logical theme.
Antimetaboles are popular and effective solely because they appeal to reason and are easy to remember. If the first half is relatable, then the reader or listener will automatically make sense of the second half. For example, “It is not about the years in your life, but about the life in your years.” A sentence like this can be called an antimetabole because it is appealing, correct [logically and grammatically] and has a message to convey to the readers.
_________________________________________________________________________Antiphrasis
Definition
Antiphrasis is a figurative speech in which a phrase or word is employed in a way that is opposite to its literal meaning, in order to create an ironic or comic effect. In simple words, it is the use of phrases or words in their opposite sense from the real meaning.

“Yes, I killed him. I killed him for money–and a woman–and I didn’t get the money and I didn’t get the woman. Pretty, isn’t it…” [Double Indemnity, by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler]. Here, the speaker is making an ironic statement by using the opposite sense of the word “pretty".

Function of Antiphrasis
Like other rhetorical devices, antiphrasis also brings about additional meanings to a text and situation. The use of opposite meanings of situations and statements in literature draws readers’ interest. Besides, it makes the literary piece of writing more captivating, and helps the readers make use of their own thoughts, and understand the underlying meaning of the words and phrases.
_________________________________________________________________________Antistrophe
Definition
Antistrophe is a rhetorical device that involves the repetition of the same words at the end of consecutive phrases, clauses, sentences, and paragraphs.

Example: “A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! “ [The Return of the King, by J. R. R. Tolkien]

Similarity with Epistrophe
Antistrophe is similar to epistrophe, which also involves the repetition of words at the ends of successive clauses or sentences. However, it is opposite to anaphora, which is a repetition of words at the beginning of sentences or clauses.

Function of Antistrophe
The main function of this rhetorical device is to place emphasis on a particular thought or idea. The repetition of words helps in making the text pleasurable to read. The pattern and rhythm created with the use of antistrophe enables writers to appeal to readers’ emotions, and helps them appreciate a text better.
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Aphorism
Definition
Aphorism is a statement of truth or opinion expressed in a concise and witty, or terse manner. The term is often applied to philosophical, moral, and literary principles. The fact that they contain a truth gives them a universal acceptance.

Aphorisms often come with a pinch of humor, which makes them more appealing to the masses. Proverbs, maxims, adages, and clichés are different forms of aphoristic statements that gain prevalence.
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Definition
Aphorismus is a figure of speech that brings into question the meaning of words, in case the words are used inappropriately. Aphorismus often appears as a rhetorical question used to create a difference between the current situation being discussed and the general idea of the subject.

Difference Between Aphorismus and AphorismAphorismus should not be confused with aphorism because aphorismus challenges the meaning of words by pointing out a question.

Example: “I am Pozzo! [Silence.] Pozzo! [Silence.] Does that name mean nothing to you? [Silence.] I say does that name mean nothing to you?”

However, aphorism is a different figure of speech, which is a brief statement containing personal truth, or a phrase that conveys a principle of thought. In these lines, Francis Bacon has said:
“Praise is the reflection of the virtue. But it is the reflection glass or body which giveth the reflection.” [Of Praise, by Francis Bacon]

Function of Aphorismus
The role of aphorismus is to emphasize the meanings of a sentence or phrase by challenging or raising questions about it. It brings into question the underlying meanings words and phrases, since the meaning of words can have a variety of connotations which help extend and enrich the language.
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Aporia
Definition
Aporia is a figure of speech wherein a speaker purports or expresses doubt or perplexity regarding a question [often feigned], and asks the reader how to proceed. The doubts may appear as a rhetoric question, often in the beginning of the text.

Aporia is a logical paradox in which the speaker sows seeds of doubt on a subject. This rhetorical strategy can make the reader feel sympathetic toward the view point character regarding the dilemma he is in. It is also called “dubitation,” which means that the uncertainty is always untruthful.

Example:” Hamlet” [By William Shakespeare]
“To not to be: that is the question.
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all…”

Here, the statement, “To be or not to be” introduces uncertainty that characterizes the paragraph.

Function of Aporia
Aporia is an expression of doubt or uncertainty. When uncertainty and doubt are genuine, it can indicate a real impasse, and stimulate the audience to consider different options for resolution. It could show the humbleness of a speaker if the doubt he expresses is genuine. Aporia causes uncertainty, and makes the reader discover the certainty through subsequent statements of the speaker. The main objective is to provide the reader’s chance to analyze and judge the situation.
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Aposiopesis
Definition
Aposiopesis is derived from a Greek word that means “becoming silent.” It is a rhetorical device that can be defined as a figure of speech in which the writer breaks off abruptly and leaves the statement incomplete. It is as if the speaker is not willing to state what is present in his mind, due to being overcome by passion, excitement, or fear. In a piece of literature, it means to leave a sentence unfinished, so that the reader can determine his own meanings.

Types of Aposiopesis
● Emotive aposiopesis – This type of aposiopesis is used in conditions of conflict between emotional outbursts of a character and an environment that does not react. Usually, the writer or character speaking pauses in the middle of a sentence.
● Calculated aposiopesis – This type of aposiopesis is based on the conflict of missing thought and its opposing force that rejects the substance of that thought. Hence, the idea is removed that is explicitly expressed afterwards.
● Audience-respecting aposiopesis – It is based on the removal of thoughts which are unpleasant or offensive to the readers.
● Transitio-aposiopesis – It removes the ideas from the end part of a speech in order to immediately get the audience interested in the subsequent section.
● Emphatic aposiopesis – It avoids the use of full utterance, to present the idea as greater and really inexpressible.

Some Forms of Aposiopesis
Sometimes a word is used to indicate something completely different from its literal meaning. Such as in this example, “Tis deepest winter in Lord Timon’s purse; that is, one may reach deep enough, and find little” [Timon of Athens, by William Shakespear].
● Sometimes a word is used to indicate something whose actual name is not used like, “A chair’s arm.”
● Sometimes a paradoxical statement is used to create illogical strained metaphors. Such as, “Take arms against a sea of troubles.”
● Abusio is a subtype of Aposiopesis, which results from the combination of two metaphors.

Example:
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer [By Mark Twain]
“She looked perplexed for a moment, and then said, not fiercely, but still loud enough for the furniture to hear:
‘Well, I lay if I get hold of you I’ll –’
She did not finish, for by this time she was bending down and punching under the bed with the broom, and so she needed breath to punctuate the punches with. She resurrected nothing but the cat …”
There are two examples of aposiopesis in this excerpt. First, the writer pauses at “hold of you I’ll –,” and then at the end of the excerpt, “nothing but the cat.” Both sentences are left incomplete. Notice the difference in punctuation.

Function of Aposiopesis
The purpose of using aposiopesis is to create dramatic or comic effect. The writers or speakers use it whenever they want to express ideas that are too overwhelming to finish. Several playwrights use this technique to make dialogues seem sincere and realistic. But the most effective use of aposiopesis is seen when readers successfully figure out the missing thoughts that the writer has left unfinished.
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Apostrophe
Definition
As a literary device, an apostrophe is a poetic phrase or speech made by a character who is addressed to a subject that is not present in the literary work. The subject may be dead, absent, an inanimate object, or even an abstract idea. A literary apostrophe is designed to direct a reader’s attention to the entity being addressed as a means of indicating its importance or significance. In addition, apostrophe is also utilized as a way for a character to express their internal thoughts and feelings to someone or something that is not able to respond.

Example: “Death Be Not Proud” [by John Donne]
The poet addresses Death as if it is a living, present person:

“Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so;”

By using apostrophe, the poet is able to share their thoughts and feelings about death as an abstract idea by “speaking” to Death as if it could hear or understand. In turn, this literary device also allows the poet to share their innermost emotions and ideas about death with the reader to create a greater impact.

Difference Between Apostrophe as Literary Device and Punctuation
Most people have heard of apostrophe in terms of punctuation. As a punctuation mark, an apostrophe indicates possession [the student’s book] or an intentional omission of letters or numbers.

Though it may appear that apostrophe as punctuation is entirely different from apostrophe as a literary device, there is a similar foundation to their functions. A literary apostrophe is used by writers to allow a character or speaker to address an absent entity as if it/they were present. Like the punctuation mark, apostrophe in literature is therefore related to an intentional omission. Rather than the omission of letters or numbers, a literary apostrophe refers to an intentional absence of a subject being addressed, thereby calling attention to what is not there.

Function of Apostrophe
As a literary device, apostrophe is used in literature to allow a character to speak to an object, abstract idea, absent person, or someone who doesn’t exist as if it is a living, present person. Apostrophe is effective in a literary work for its dramatic effect, to demonstrate the importance of the object, idea, or absent person, and to allow readers to witness a character’s personal and intimate expression.
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Appositive
Definition
When a noun or word is followed by another noun or phrase that renames or identifies it, this is called appositive. This is a literary device that appears before or after a noun or noun phrase. It is always used with a comma. Simply, we can define it as a noun phrase or a noun that defines or explains another noun, which it follows. In this grammatical structure, writers place elements like noun phrases side-by-side, where one element serves to define the other, and one is in apposition to the other.

Example: [A Hanging, by George Orwell]
“We were waiting outside the condemned cells, a row of sheds fronted with double bars, like small animal cages.”

In this line, “the condemned cells” is a noun phrase, while “a row of sheds” is an appositive that explains this noun phrase.

Types of Appositive
● Restrictive Appositive - Restrictive appositive gives essential information to identify the phrase or noun in apposition. It clarifies the meaning of a phrase but, if the appositive is removed, the meaning of the entire sentence changes.

Example: ”A Christmas Memory” [By Truman Capote]
“Christmas Eve afternoon we scrape together a nickel and go to the butcher’s to buy Queenie’s traditional gift, a good gnawable beef bone.”

In the above excerpt, a restrictive appositive is clarifying and describing a noun “traditional gift.” Here, this literary device has appeared after the noun, specifying the type of gift. Drawing by By John Minnion Truman

● Non-Restrictive Appositive
Non-restrictive appositive gives non-essential or extra information, which is not important to identify the phrase or noun in apposition. This type of appositive is often used with commas.

Example: “Bronx Primitive” [By Kate Simon]
“Though her cheeks were high-colored and her teeth strong and yellow, she looked like a mechanical woman, a machine with flashing, glassy circles for eyes.”

In this example, the noun “mechanical woman” is defined and identified by a long noun phrase, a restrictive appositive, “flashing, gassy circles for eyes,” which serves as a useful device in this excerpt, and brings variety to the sentence, enhancing its meaning.

Function of Appositive
The function of appositive in literary works is to provide information, which is either essential or additional. An appositive noun also defines, explains, and clarifies the meaning of a sentence. It is helpful to combine sentences to avoid too many choppy and short sentences. In addition, an appositive phrase gives variety to a literary work by using sentences of varied lengths, allowing the writers to use interesting details with smooth flow of the reading experience.
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Asyndeton
Definition
Asyndeton is a stylistic device used to intentionally eliminate conjunctions between the phrases, and in the sentence, yet maintain grammatical accuracy. This literary tool helps in reducing the indirect meaning of the phrase, and presents it in a concise form.

The Two Types of Asyndeton Examples

● Used between words and phrases within a sentence
[Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 1, by William Shakespeare]
“Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, Shrunk to this little measure?”

● Used between sentences or clauses
[Oedipus at Colonus, by Sophecles]
“Without looking, without making a sound, without talking”

Difference Between Syndeton and Asyndeton
Syndeton and asyndeton are opposite to one another. Syndeton includes the addition of multiple conjunctions, such as in this example: “He eats and sleeps and drinks.” On the other hand, asyndeton is the elimination, or leaving out, of conjunctions, such as in this example: “He eats, sleeps, drinks.”

Each creates a completely different effect. Syndeton slows down the pace or rhythm of speech, and makes it moderate, whereas asyndeton speeds up the rhythm of the speech.

Function of Asyndeton
Asyndeton helps in speeding up the rhythm of words. It helps in attracting readers to collaborate with the writers, since it suggests that words, phrases, and sentences are incomplete, and the readers would have to do some work to deduce meanings. This version creates immediate impact, and the readers are attuned to what the author is trying to convey.
Asyndeton is often applied intentionally in order to give a unique emphasis to the text, thereby drawing the attention of readers towards a particular idea the author wants to convey.
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JUST SAYIN
That’s just the "A" list. I can't imagine why any writer would need to know these names.
■
Sources:
https://literaryterms.net/#:~:text=Literary%20Terms%20Literary%20terms%20refer%20to%20the%20technique%2C,wordsmiths%20use%20to%20coin%20new%20words%20or%20phrases.

https://www.austincc.edu/dws/literary.html
https://www.portnet.org/cms/lib/NY01001023/Centricity/Domain/83/Lit%20Term%20Glossary.pdf
https://literaryterms.net/glossary-of-literary-terms/
http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms.html
https://www.rfwp.com/samples/guide-to-literary-terms.pdf
https://assets.ltkcontent.com/files/Literary-Terms-Examples-Worksheet.pdf?mtime=20201223075026&focal=none
https://warreneastoncharterhigh.org/ourpages/auto/2012/5/8/66716914/LITERARY%20TERMS%20master%20list.pdf

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_literary_terms#:~:text=%20List%20of%20literary%20terms%20%201%20A.,theme%20are%20about%20seizing%20the%20moment...%20More%20

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/introliterature/chapter/literary-terms-2/#:~:text=Literary%20Terms%20%20%20%20Term%20%20,a%20%20...%20%2029%20more%20rows%20

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