Rainbow Hill Meanders

Rainbow Hill Meanders is back!

I know some will say that it never went away, but today’s post is to proclaim that control of the blog has been wrested away from the cats.

There will still be Cat Convo Fridays, but the focus of the blog will now return to some of my other of my favorite things.

As Rainbow Hill Meanders returns to its wandering through the space/time continuum, you will see a lot of world mythology, cryptobiology/cryptozoology, words, writing and odd Internet rabbit holes I’ve gone down and can’t wait to share.

Over the next few months, I will start Mythology Mondays by looking at Hawaiian mythology. I enjoy a challenge and with well over 40,000 deities in the Hawaiian pantheon, I will certainly have one. I will be sharing the highlights of research into this rich culture.

The Hill plans on travel to many diverse mythologies and I will also be building an old world bestiary of my favorite mythological creatures.

As a writer, I will share my passion for words, my struggles with which grammar and punctuation guidelines to use, plus writing tips and sites.

Some cat pictures may well sneak in during the week, but the cats will only have control of the blog on Fridays.

I hope the journey is always fun and informative.

~lisa

May you all have a happy Pi Day. As always thoughts, comments and questions are always welcome.

Writing Prompts

Writing prompts are both blessings and curses for writers. You can dive into them and get lost in “the flow” or you can bite your lip, stare at the screen, get more coffee and beat yourself up for not having the faintest idea about what to say.

Prompts are both joyful discovery and intense frustration.

As I embark on my last week of Blogging 101, the assignment is to pick a writing prompt from the WordPress Daily Post. https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts

I think the assignment is evil as I obsessively  peruse the prompts. Pick just one? I don’t think so. Make a list while I’m there and keep them in a file for when I think I have writer’s block. Absolutely.

Assignment: Pick a prompt and make it your own. As if.

Here is a selection of my favorites:

Create a word exercise. Oh, I love making up words and I love stretching existing words into new uses. This is not always the best trait in a writer, but the amount of fun I have is worth the occasional censure. https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/flangiprop/

“Flagiprop  /fla dz prop:/ verb 1. to save a conversation by inserting a completely random and intriguing subject. noun 2. a strange term or word used to revive conversation”

 Sneaking cat pictures in here. Who would I like most like to write my biography? Easy answer: most definitely a group effort by the Bengals. https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/your-life-the-book/ ?

My favorite prompt of the day is a writing exercise. You’ll see my answer in a post later this week.

Write about any topic you wish, but make sure your post features a bookcase, something cracked, and a song you love. https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/final-trio/

This writing prompt is a little like the flash fiction contests held by my favorite writing blog by Literary Agent Janet Reid. She’s amazing. I do so wish she represented my genre.

If you have reached the querying stage for your book or want to look ahead at the process, then I highly recommend following Query Shark http://queryshark.blogspot.com/ blog

Also check out:http://fineprintlit.com/agents/janet-reid/ Such a wealth of amazing information.

Finally the last prompt: Is the glass half-empty or half-full? https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/the-glass/

Obviously the answer is how you look at it. My feeling is, if you put on the right lens, the glass is always overflowing.

~lisa

Sculpture pictures from Porter Sculpture Park, Montrose. South Dakota
Sculptor Wayne Porter http://portersculpturepark.com/

 

 

Niccolo Machiavelli

Niccolo Machiavelli
Born on May 3, 1469.

Niccolo Machiavelli was a most complex man: a writer, poet, a pundit of political and military theory, songwriter, a guidance counselor to princes, a reviled humanist, and a man who lent his name, not only to a psychological syndrome, but to as a somewhat derogatory descriptive used by the general public.

Machiavelli is often cited as the founder of modern political science and political ethics. Considering how negative the connotation of his name is, it almost makes one wonder if that is the reason for the political mess of the current world.

Machiavelli’s best known work is The Prince in which he imports to instruct a young ruler in the ways of government. The Prince is, at its heart, a manual to acquiring and keeping political power.

Machiavelli is the source of the very popular (in some circles) political theory “the end justifies the means”.

Every century a new theory emerges as to the meaning and purpose of The Prince ranging from literal to ironic to satirical. The author’s true intent may never be known.

It is generally agreed The Prince endorses what most would consider to be evil and immoral behavior. “Politics have no relation to morals.” – Niccolo Machiavelli

More often than not, Machiavelli’s collected writings are unsystematic, inconsistent and sometimes self-contradictory.

For example this almost sounds like sage advice: “The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.” – Niccolo Machiavelli

And these quotes sound like it could have come from more modern day revolutionaries.

“I’m not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it. – Niccolo Machivelli

“When you disarm the people you commence to offend them and show that you distrust them either through cowardice or lack of confidence, and both of these opinions generate hatred.” – Niccolo Machiavelli

This is one of the best historical guides I found on Machiavelli. http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/machiavelli.html

This is an excellent New York Times piece on “Why Machiavelli Still Matters”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/10/opinion/why-machiavelli-matters.html?_r=0

This site is dense, but thorough http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/machiavelli/
Now on to the word he gave his name to: Machiavellian. The OED defines Machiavellian as “Cunning, scheming and unscrupulous, especially in politics”.

My own search on Machiavellian netted me such gems as:

cunning, expedient, opportunist, artful, astute, calculating, conniving, crafty, deceitful, devious, plotting, shrewd, sly, underhanded, unscrupulous, wily, manipulative, canny, designing, guileful, intelligent, premeditating, scheming, cagey, tricky, observant, treacherous, corrupt, crooked, dangerous, disingenuous, perfidious, surreptitious, subtle, and wormlike

These two clichés also stood out: “Crazy like a fox” and “like a snake in the grass”

In Psychology, Machiavellianism is real and disturbing. It is described as being unemotional and detached from conventional morality with a tendency to deceive and manipulate others. Machiavellianism is part of the dark triad along with narcissism and psychopathy.

There are Low Machs and High Machs.

Low Machs give a high priority to money, power and competition and a lower priority to community-building, self-love, and family concerns. Unfortunately, we all know a few of these people. Then there are the High Machs who focus on achievement and winning at any cost.

“Men should be either treated generously or destroyed, because they take revenge for slight injuries – for heavy ones they cannot.” – Niccolo Machiavelli

These are great sites on the psychological aspect of Machiavellianism
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-bejeezus-out-me/201206/machiavellian-iq
This site is cluttered with adverts, but the information is good. http://www.psychforums.com/narcissistic-personality/topic11253.html
This is a great outline 48 Laws of Power and The Machiavellian Personality

There are also many non-scientific quizzes to find out how Machiavellian you are. Fun to take if you aren’t too scared of the outcome. The sheer number of these tests show how influential and
long-lasting the work of Machiavelli has been.

http://personality-testing.info/tests/MACH-IV.php
http://martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/personality.html
http://www.salon.com/1999/09/13/ivory_tower_side_bar_for_monday/
http://drbj.hubpages.com/hub/Are-You-Machiavellian

Check out these Machiavellian characters in popular culture http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22537324

My favorite quote by Machiavelli:

“The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.”

Read the book THE PRINCE by NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI and decide for yourself which of the hype through all the ages is true and what of the contradictory messages of Machiavelli can you see as a truth of this age.
~lisa