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PhotoShop Saves the Day
The photo processing utility PhotoShop often gets a bad rap because scam artists and hucksters use it to create fake photos that mislead or cheat people. But it’s just a tool and shouldn’t be blamed because some people misuse it. It can be a life saver in some circumstances. Like the time my nephew, Keith, needed new head shots for a film role he was auditioning for and asked if I would do them. I agreed, but since all my photo gear was destroyed when our house burned in March 2021, and I’ve only just begun to repurchase equipment, all I had was my DSLR camera, a few filters, and two lenses. He recently moved, and his lights, backdrops and other gear needed to do proper head shots was still in storage, we decided to make do with a large piece of brown cardboard and my camera’s internal flash. Most of the photos (especially those we took outdoors) came out okay, but some of the closeups had a harsh shadow and the texture of the cardboard glaringly apparent. To make sure the photos would pass muster, I decided that it was time to invest in some proper post processing software, so I bought and installed PhotoShop. A few hours of practice to get the feel of it, and then I tackled the offending shots. Below, see before and after shots to show just what this amazing software can do.
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Ascendancy of Kakistocracy
American democracy is not dead, nor is it, as some have suggested, in danger of being replaced by a plutocracy, and certainly not an aristocracy—although, some high-level politicians act as if they are aristocrats. No, what is happening, I fear, is that our democracy is, before our very eyes, morphing into a kakistocracy. For those unfamiliar with the term, ‘kakistocracy’ is derived from the Greek words for ‘bad’ and ‘rule,’ and means, basically, ‘rule by the worst men (people) in the state.
If you don’t believe me, or if you take issue with this view, I support your right to that belief. After all, the Constitution protects every citizen’s right to believe whatever he or she wishes, and the right to express that belief—at least, it does so far. I will, though, tell you why I am of the belief that we are slowly coming under the suzerainty of the most base elements of our society, and that we only have ourselves to blame for this sad state of affairs.
Look at the way certain members of the American public and some politicians have reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the weight of scientific evidence, you have many people who refused to believe the virus even exists and too many politicians willing to support this misguided belief. Then you have those who oppose wearing masks or getting vaccinated and, again, politicians clinging to these views either because they are as lacking in knowledge or, even worse, because they think it will win them votes.
The other evidence of the rise of the kakistocrats is the political support for climate change deniers. While I can understand the average person having difficulty with the concept—given the sorry state of our primary education system in many parts of the country and the growing mistrust in science or intellectuals this is bound to result in large numbers of uninformed—but the politicians who are unable to process the information that’s available to them, or who are so deep in the pockets of the corporations that make millions off fossil fuels and deforestation, and who promote climate change denialism or who refuse to support actions to save the planet are beneath contempt.
So, there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s not autocrats we have to fear. We have to fear the establishment of a dictatorship of fools, or author John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces, published in 1981 through the efforts of writer Walker Percy eleven years after Toole’s suicide. Dunces is the story of a man who disdains modernity while enjoying it at the same time, and he attributes all of his failings to some higher power rather than his own feeble inadequacies. Toole is thought to have come up with the idea for the book from an epigram in Jonathan Swift’s essay Thoughts on Various Subjects, Moral and Diverting: “When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by his sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.” The modern-day dunces are the kakistocrats who are known not so much by what they do and think but by what they are against, and they seem to be against just about everything that is moral and meaningful. If it make sense, you can depend on them to take a stand against it.
And that, my dear friends, is what we truly have to fear.
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A tale of two countries
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Kids and COVID
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Virtual Book Signing Event Nov. 18
The Sunshine Patriots
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What scares you?
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DS Productions to Host a Multi-Author Virtual Signing Event
October 13, 2021 – DS Productions (DSP) – the home of some of the biggest selling Western authors in the genre – is excited to announce that they will be hosting a multi-author virtual signing event, Best Sellers Live! The event will be a historic first for the Western genre and a revolutionary step forward for Western authors, readers, and publishers.
About the Event:
Six best-selling Western fiction authors have teamed up with DSP to put together The Signature Classic Collector’s Edition: Hunt of the Mountain Man. Each author has contributed a short story featuring the popular heroes from their Western novels. Each book purchased for the event will be signed by all six of the authors.
The virtual signing will take place on Thursday, November 18th at 9:00pm Eastern Time via Zoom. Everyone who purchases a book for the event or wishes to attend the event will receive a Zoom link to join. The authors participating in this highly anticipated event are none other than C. Wayne Winkle, G.P. Hutchinson, William Joiner, Charles Ray, Peter Turner, and David Watts.
You can visit the webpage for the event to purchase your book and for more information:
https://www.bestsellerslive.com/
About the Authors:
C. Wayne Winkle
C. Wayne Winkle is an Amazon best-selling author of Westerns that depict the heroism and dangers inherent in the American West of the 19th century. He was a board-certified family psychologist with over 40 years’ experience prior to retirement. His intent in his writing is to bring back the history (good, bad, and indifferent) of the American frontier. He is married to the same wonderful woman for 50 years. She has been, and continues to be, his anchor in this wild and wacky world. Their six grandchildren keep both of them busy when he isn’t writing. His Christianity forms the basis of his life, even though he falls short of its ideal on a daily basis. His motto? ‘I can’t not write!’
G.P. Hutchinson
A resident of Texas for a number of years, Hutchinson’s visits throughout the West have only served to deepen his enthusiasm for the region and his appreciation of its people, history, and folklore. He’s currently a resident of upstate South Carolina, along with his lovely wife, Carolyn. Besides writing, Hutchinson enjoys forays into the mountains, horseback riding, and exploring the history of America’s national pastime, baseball.
Peter Alan Turner
Maybe it’s because Peter Alan Turner lives on Rattlesnake Ridge. Or perhaps it’s because he grew up watching television Westerns that he was drawn to writing about the Old West. As a former history teacher, Peter strives to be authentic, create likable characters, and tell a good story. With more than a dozen books and a four-plus star rating on Amazon, he must be doing something right.
Peter lives with his wife of fifty-three years and their cat Moxie in Western Maryland. Peter is lucky that his children, grandchildren, and great-grandson all live close by. When he’s not writing, Peter enjoys woodcarving, fishing, and pampering his classic Jaguar. Mr. Turner donates a portion of the profits from his books to Veteran’s charities.
Charles Ray
Charles Ray is a man reborn. After 20 years in the US Army and 30 years as a diplomat, he has reinvented himself as an author. He has been writing since his teens, but really got into it in 2008 as he was approaching the end of a half-century government career. Ray writes in a variety of genres, both fiction and nonfiction, but in a further reinvention, this Texas native who now calls Maryland home, is currently best known for his tales of the western frontier. He writes stories that are historically accurate and reflect the diversity of the Wild West, but never lets history interfere with telling a compelling story. Ray currently lives in Woodbine, Maryland.
David Watts
David Watts grew up in Texas and participated actively in farming and ranching. As a teen, he watched cowboy movies every Saturday at the Ritz Theatre. He has published nine very successful Westerns, drawing upon his range of personal experience and is currently working on a chapter-challenge collaboration with William Vlach. Previously, he worked in poetry, short stories, mysteries, Christmas memoir and radio commentary. He is an accomplished musician and composer and a retired television and radio host. His professional life is in medical health care.
William H. Joiner Jr.
Other than summer jobs as a teenager, Bill has always been in business for himself. He has owned businesses that included: residential and commercial construction; brokering and trading commodities; owning and operating multiple insurance agencies; horse breeding, syndicating, training and racing; dog breeding and field trialing; owning and operating multiple gyms; owning and operating oil wells; brokering, researching title and consulting (regarding the buying and selling of oil and gas properties); as well as brokering and facilitating international fuel purchases.
He finally found his calling as an author, drawing on life’s experiences for the inspiration for his books.
About the Publisher:
DS Productions (DSP) is a leader in Western fiction with a strong catalogue of authors and Western novels. DSP has consistently placed their authors inside the top one hundred and is also known for taking new authors and turning them into a success using their sales formula. Their personalized, winning publishing techniques have made them one of the leading publishers in Western-themed fiction.
