My #amazon #author page

Here's my #amazon #author page with my #poetry

Here

Gonzolecture Book 2 Pls RT TY

Great pleasure to announce :

NEW BOOK!!!  Work, Love, Fkkk, Live: Writing to Get Your Freak On (Volume 2)

by @GonzoLecture

http://t.co/XKfusgmPwk

http://t.co/5wIkT7xxCM

If you can see your way to purchase, we're grateful for your support. Any retweets also help spread the word. Thanks.

Author & Producer

Present problems of education (PPOE) - introduction

The present problems of UK higher education stem from the changes that occurred in the last century. These are mainly that :

- education has been considered unimportant enough to be left to market forces. 

- the only way for education to survive in a free market is to pretend it's a customer service. 

This gonzolecture aims to argue that education is not a customer service (though it may and probably should include customer service elements in its offering). I shall also attempt to argue that 

[As I progress this argument, please feel free to post comments /contributions below or on twitter to @GonzoLecture 

When we get the Facebook side of things sorted out, then you'll have there to go, as well.]

twitter: please RT from here & spread the word so that people who might want to join in can do. TY 

Society's Mission GL

Life's very strange right now in institutional Britain. It's all strange because the institutions that were formed to develop & tangibilise & improve "society" are now effectively being used to control the population through legal & practical regulation. This part is obvious. 

However, the visible & explicit cues of control are accompanied by a far more insidious and harder to detect set of processes involving the production and delivery of societal discourses, designed to inform persuade & remind the populace of the requirements of its rulers, such as ordinary people's obligations & required standards of behaviour and prepackaged attitudes that benefit the state, not its inhabitants, etc. 

As I'm speaking I'm sure I can hear the screech of the tyres of black, unmarked sedans outside, in the GONZOTOWERS car park. 

How about the economy being custom fashioned by the ruling class for the ongoing enhancement and maintenance of its own wealth? How about such an enterprise requiring a slave workforce that wasn't completely made up of cloned, mindless drones? Actually, assume it's not yet scientifically possible to clone drones. 

So there's this workforce that thinks it can think for itself and as long as it can be somehow persuaded to continually comply with economy's mission 1, everything's fine. 

We need to be healthy, educated, positive, compliant, motivated, even entertained, as long as we're happy enough to give our lives towards the ongoing pursuit of the big economic goal of maintaining profits for the ruling classes. 

Just in case you're already unfollowing this blog, I don't wanna come across like some uber-marxist asshole, because that's NOT where I'm going with this. 

UK social institutions - the schools, the health service, the social services, the news, entertainment providers, law & order, government, welfare state, other public services etc all need to work in unison to ensure we know :

1. Who we are 

2. What we are here for - our position & function in society 

3. How to behave 

4. What we should believe 

5.etc 

(I reserve the right to add to this list later, any help would be appreciated). 

This is the purpose of social institutions : to ensure adherence to those established requirements above. So society defines itself and assimilates us into itself, as long as we're willing cooperators. It then accomplishes its purpose through us. 

For this reason, the purpose of social institutions must mirror the purpose of the ruling classes. Hence the necessity of (so called) professional training must be provided in order to ensure workers stick to the plan. Throw in a consumer service discourse, a pseudo-altruistic vibe, all kinds of things, and we're onto a winner. 

Of course this is a silly story, dreamed up by a naive, idealistic academic (Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach. Those who can't teach, teach teachers. Those who can't teach teachers, work here, etc). I said at the start, "imagine..." didn't I?  Please don't read this & tell the boss, Krishna. 

So then we're faced with the maintenance of the systems that keep us in our positions. Cue: The Orcs (forthcoming) 

POST comments below, if you're not stupid: 

Paul Rega [10] 3 Last Things

TGL: If you wanted your readers to take away only three things from your book “How To Find A Job: When There Are No Jobs”, what would they be?

PR: You may have heard the saying in real estate, “Location Location, Location” as being the most important aspect of how much a property is worth or how well it sells. I would say that in the case of job hunting, “Planning, Planning, Planning” is key, and without it, you may not succeed at the level you had hoped. To emphasize my point, my late grandfather expressed to me during a discussion we were having regarding a sales career I was considering. He said, “Paul, sales is a good field, but you have to be organized and you must have a system.”  What he was really saying is that without a plan you will not be a successful sales person. He was right. 

TGL: Well thanks so much Paul for sharing with us what is a novel approach to a familiar problem. I'm sure our readers would like to join with me in thanking you for being with us here. I'm sure also they'd love to contact you and find out more about your book, so I'd just mention that you can contact Paul Rega, President of Paul J. Rega & Associates via the following links:

Web: www.paulrega.com
Web: www.

howtofindajobwhentherearenojob
s.com
Book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/
B0056PFONW
Author: www.amazon.com/author/paulrega
Twitter: http://twitter.com/paulrega
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/
people/Paul-Rega/1636494613
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/
paulrega

Do you have any questions for Paul? Would you like to share a comment?

Paul Rega [9] Networking

TGL: In your book “How To Find A Job: When There Are No Jobs” you highly recommend networking as part of your plan to find a job. What does effective networking look like? What does ineffective networking look like?

PR: Networking is a process that you put into place prior to your job search. Imagine a giant spider web that is your network, a network of connections that all interact with one another. A network that in ineffective does not interact and is a separate entity. 

Do you have any questions for Paul? Would you like to share a comment?

Paul Rega [8] Control

TGL: You state in Chapter 4 of your book “How To Find A Job: When There Are No Jobs” that "any decision regarding your career is your personal decision and you and only you should be in complete control of your career and destiny." What advice can you give to your readers to help them prevent others from unconsciously controlling their careers?

PR: Again it comes down to planning ahead and being prepared. If you are amply prepared than you can better anticipate and plan your life as best as you can. Planning is essential but you must be able to adapt. I saw a great quote the other day that will emphasize my point in this area. “It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent: it is the one most adaptable to change”   Charles Darwin

Do you have any questions for Paul? Would you like to share a comment?

Paul Rega [7] Balance

TGL: In your book “How To Find A Job: When There Are No Jobs”, you mention that it is crucial to find balance among life's seven components: Health, Family, Knowledge, Relationships, Spiritual, Financial and Career. What does this balance look like and how can we achieve it?

PR: It really comes down to planning as the seven components I speak of in my career planning book do not just occur without some level of planning,  followed by setting specific goals as is the second and most important phase of the Intuitive Personal Assessment (IPA) program.  

Do you have any questions for Paul? Would you like to share a comment?

Terry Tyler [3] Bad Writing

What do you dislike about "bad" writing?

Depends what you call ‘bad’ writing.  This is what I think it is: bad grammar, incorrect punctuation, over use of clichés, inconsistency within characters, unfeasible plots, anti-climactic endings, unrealistic dialogue, clumsy sentences, nouns used as verbs, the jumping on of bandwagons in the hope that the public will read anything if it vaguely resembles Twilight/50 Shades/whatever the next ‘big thing’ is going to be.

What do I dislike about it?  Hard to answer as I don’t read it.  If a book is badly written I just abandon it.  Its main downside, if we’re talking about Amazon Kindle Store, is that it can give all independently published stuff a bad name; I’ve read on forum discussions and in FB reader groups that many people consider 30 -50% of books that are ‘Kindle only’ to be rubbish.  I reckon, however, that things will change, eventually; right now it seems that everyone who has a laptop is writing a novel, but surely it will slow down, one day?  Imagine this:  You’ve brought out two novels and got hundreds of lousy reviews – you’ll go back to the day job, eventually, won’t you?  On the other hand, it hasn’t done EL James any harm.  Oh dear.  Okay, okay, bad writing is here to stay.  Bummer.

Many thanks for asking me those interesting questions, and for inviting me to be a Gonzo guest, Charles!

Terry Tyler - Author Interview [2] Fame & Money

If you had to choose, do you write for the fame, or the money?

I’ve thought about this one a lot, too. The answer is neither.  I won’t lie and pretend I wouldn’t like more money, because of course I would, but I’m not particularly materialistic and money has never been the motivation for any of the courses of action I have pursued in my life.  Fame?  Who wants that?  I think you have to be some sort of nut with serious self-esteem issues to want to be famous for its own sake. 

No, what I’d love is the recognition.  I want lots of people to say, Terry Tyler, she writes great books!  That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?  Of course, if I became nationally reknowned (yeah, yeah!) this would bring fame and money with it, but they are not stand alone motivations, and I reckon I could live with them!  I look at my Amazon ratings and new reviews on a daily basis but my sales figures only once a week…..

I’d also love that recognition to extend to a wider audience – my first three books are classed by Amazon, etc, as ‘women’s contemporary fiction’, but they’re not just that; I don’t write in any deliberate genre, I just write.  I’m glad that a fair few men have read and reviewed me, too, as my 4^th novel (‘Dream On’, which came out on September 1st) is slightly more ‘bloke’ orientated; the main character is Dave Bentley, a guy from small town England who wants to be a rock star. 

The story is about his band, and also his relationships with singer-songwriter Ariel (the love of his life), and Janice, who is the mother of his son, Harley (David’s son, geddit!).  It’s got serious bits and funny bits and tongue-in-cheek bits - especially when Dave’s band and Ariel take part in a TV Talent show.  Then there is Melodie Joy, who ‘just wants to be a celebrity’…….

Paul Rega [6] Intuition

TGL: Throughout your book “How To Find A Job: When There Are No Jobs”, you encourage others to use their intuition to determine their values, goals and their desired career paths. What advice can you give to those that have yet to tap into or trust their intuition?

PR: Intuition is something we all have but few really ever practice it. Consequently your intuition never becomes very refined. I would say that to make it an important part of your daily life is to begin by practicing and trusting it in small ways. Then when you really need it, your sense and feel for it will be more in tune with what is right for you. That is the essence of intuition, “what is right for you.” 

Do you have any questions for Paul? Would you like to share a comment?

Terry Tyler - Author Interview [1] Perspiration?

There's a saying "1% inspiration, 80% perspiration." With respect to writing, what say you?

I’ve thought about this long and hard!  Aside from the fact that your MATH is way out (as we’ve already mentioned!),  here’s my version:

10%  Inspiration – you need to be able to think up an unusual story that works, great characters, good plot twists/cliffhangers to keep your audience’s attention.  It’s been said that there are only seven plots in the world; maybe so, but ideally you should have a new take on your choice from those seven.

10% Individuality – your ‘voice’ ought to stand out in the crowd.  I don’t know whether that’s something you can work on or not; I dare say you can’t TRY to be individual!  I hope I write like ME and not like anyone else; I’ve been told this is the case.  Ah - I hope that’s a good thing….!

20% Talent – as I have often said, writing is not something you can learn from a formula.  You can  read all the articles about ‘how to build suspense’, buy your ‘how I became a bestselling author’ book, attend all the creative writing classes you like – they might improve your technique but they won’t give you that ‘spark’.  Having said that, practice, hard work and not being too proud to take advice can develop what you do have.

I read a 1 star review of a book today that said ‘just because you’ve thought of a good story it doesn’t mean you can write’.  Alas, this is all too true.

20% Aptitude for the basics – If you can’t punctuate, if your grammar is poor, it doesn’t matter how great your story idea is, because people won’t be able to read past the first couple of pages.  You’re not sure about it?  Learn how to do it before you to start to write a novel.

35% Dedication – Okay, so you’ve got that 60% of other stuff.  Now you’ve got to sit down and write the thing.  For hours at a time.  Without being distracted by Twitter, Facebook, the telly, the pub, Spider Solitaire, lying on the sofa gazing at the ceiling.  I have a friend who is a far better writer than I; even his Facebook status updates are so clever I can never think of a worthy comment.  He used to write blogs on MySpace that were riveting.  But he can’t apply himself.  ‘That’ novel remains in his head.  Tragic.

…..and not forgetting….

…. 5%  Proof-reading – for all those mistakes, like the ones I sometimes discover in my books, AFTER publication – we’re none of us perfect, eh!

Paul Rega [5] Values

TGL: In your career book “How To Find A Job: When There Are No Jobs”, you emphasize the importance of understanding your values to find a career path that suits you. Can you always find a way to incorporate them, even during a recession?

PR: Yes, I think that having a value system is very important throughout your life. With the recession it has become even more important to draw from your values in a way many people have not had to in the past. In some cases an individual’s values have become the catalyst and idea for a small business. Since your values are typically the things that are most important to you, they can be a logical source for business ideas and thus turned into a business.  

Do you have any questions for Paul? Would you like to share a comment?

Paul Rega [4] Adjustments

TGL: In Chapter 2 of your book “How To Find A Job: When There Are No Jobs”, you state that "if you do not make proper adjustments to your career as changes in your life occur, your career may stagnate." Why do you think this is, and what do proper adjustments look like?

PR: That’s a great question and I would say that throughout life, there will be things that will occur that you have control over, i.e. your career for instance. However, there will be plenty of things that will happen to you that you have absolutely no control over such as an illness. It is then imperative that you make the proper adjustments to your career to adjust to your personal situation. 
Do you have any questions for Paul? Would you like to share a comment?